Rajasthan AAP to contest civic, panchayat polls

The polls for urban local bodies of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota are expected to be held in April.

BUOYED BY the party’s stellar performance in Delhi Assembly elections, the Rajasthan unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced that it will contest the upcoming urban local body (ULB) elections as well as the polls to the panchayati raj institutions (PRI) in the state.

AAP state president Rampal Jat said, “Results of the Delhi elections have energised the party workers in the state. In Delhi, AAP managed to find a space for itself despite a strong presence of Congress and BJP. Rajasthan has had a two-party system too, and following the Delhi win, timing is ripe for the party to work here.”

“We will contest the ULB as well as PRI elections. We will field candidates for Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad,” Jat said. He said that the party’s state election committee has asked its Vidhan Sabha level committees to decide the candidates.

The polls for urban local bodies of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota are expected to be held in April. According to officials, the process has to be completed by April 18. This will be followed by elections to panchayati raj Institutions.