AAP’s full focus on Gujarat as its Himachal plans scuppered

Kejriwal often visited Himachal Pradesh earlier this year but is now addressing events only in the western state. On October 16, the Delhi CM was in Bhavnagar. Though the election date for Himachal has been announced — November 12 — and Gujarat poll dates have not been declared, most AAP leaders from Punjab, including ministers and MLAs, are being seen more in Gujarat. A few of them said on the condition of anonymity that they were puzzled why they were not being sent to neighbouring Himachal and instead were being deployed to a state with a different cultural milieu and where they face a language barrier.

“After July 25, when Kejriwal and (Punjab CM Bhagwant) Mann addressed a virtual rally together, Kejriwal has not been seen in the hill state. The party unit has been left to fend for itself,” said an AAP leader.

One setback after another

The AAP made a steady start in Himachal Pradesh earlier this year when banners seeking votes in Kejriwal’s name came up in several places. In March, the party appointed the Delhi CM’s close aide Durgesh Pathak as the central leader in charge of the state.

But the first body blow landed in April when the party’s then state chief Anup Kesri jumped ship to the BJP along with senior leaders general secretary Satish Thakur and Una head Iqbal Singh. The defection came two days after Kejriwal and Mann held a “Tiranga Yatra” in Mandi.

Then, the following month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a case of alleged money laundering. At the time, Jain was among those looking after the party’s election efforts in Himachal.

On October 14, the party shook things up and placed Punjab Cabinet minister Harjot Bains in charge of the hill state while Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha was made the co-in-charge for Gujarat. “He has been camping there now. Even the Punjab CM spends his weekends in Gujarat,” said a party insider.

The Kejriwal-led party has not yet declared its candidates for the elections. The last date for filing nominations is October 25. Bains said on October 16 that the party would field candidates in all 68 seats in Himachal. Though Bains was not available for comment, his aide claimed that the AAP was still very much in the contest and was not leaving any stone unturned. “We have been camping in the state ever since our appointment on October 14. We are working hard. It is wrong to say the AAP is not putting in any effort,” said the functionary.

Since the 1980s, Himachal Pradesh has had a track record of voting out the party in power every five years. This time, the BJP is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the work done by the Jairam Thakur government to break that cycle while the Congress is relying on former CM Virbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha Singh and son Vikramaditya to lead it back to power. The Opposition party will be without Virbhadra, a six-time CM who died last year.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, several seats witnessed close contests. In 20 of the 68 constituencies, the margin was less than 3,000 votes. In six seats, the margin was less than 1,000 votes.