Goa unit dissolved, AAP plans total revamp to counter ‘outsider’ tag and plan for 2024

The party had won two seats in the 2022 polls in South Goa; hopes to now build a cadre from the grassroots.

Speaking to The Indian Express, AAP Goa President Amit Palekar, and the party’s CM face in 2022, said the party would now focus on building a grassroots presence. (Express file photo)

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In a bid to restructure and strengthen its cadre in Goa ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) recently dissolved its entire organisational structure in the state barring the position of the state president.

The party said a new organisational structure would be announced soon.

The AAP had drawn a blank in the 2017 Assembly elections, its foray into Goa. It first made inroads in the state in 2020, when it won a zila panchayat seat, Benaulim. Faring better in the 2022 Assembly polls, it won two seats in South Goa – Velim and Benaulim. While AAP candidate Venzy Viegas, a first-time legislator, defeated former Chief Minister and political heavyweight Churchill Alemao in Benaulim, Cruz Silva won against the Congress’s Savio D’ Silva by a narrow margin in Velim.

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The party’s vote share, however, only saw a marginal increase from 6.3 per cent in 2017 to 6.8 per cent in 2022. A key challenge for the party has been combating the perception of being an “outsider” to the state.

Speaking to The Indian Express, AAP Goa President Amit Palekar, and the party’s CM face in 2022, said the party would now focus on building a grassroots presence.

“Till 2022, the party virtually did not have a cadre in the state. People had associated with the party as volunteers. The focus now is to build that cadre. In the last one year, we have identified people-centric leaders, who are aware of ground realities and can help the party expand its reach and vision. Many have joined the party in the last year. This change will be reflected in the new setup, which will have a blend of old and new leaders,” said Palekar.

He added that “though the party made considerable efforts in making its presence felt especially during Covid, there had been a realisation that we could not capitalise on early gains and translate that to a presence”.

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“We did not want people in just ceremonial posts. A new set up will be empowered to think and decide more locally,” he added.

Palekar, a social activist and lawyer, had contested from the St Cruz constituency in North Goa and lost the election. He belongs to Bhandari Samaj, a numerically strong community among Goa’s OBCs.

During a recent visit to Goa in April, Sandeep Pathak, national general secretary (Organisation) AAP, said the party would contest the 2024 elections in Goa — which has two Lok Sabha seats — on its own, saying the party would not forge an alliance.