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Journalism of Courage
After dislodging the BJP from power in the recent Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to contest from all the seats in the upcoming urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh. Sources said that the AAP will release a manifesto for the UP civic polls, making several promises similar to the ones it made for the MCD elections.
According to an AAP functionary, the party’s promise of giving the “mini-councillor” status to the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) worked in its favour in the MCD polls. The AAP has now planned to make the same pledge for the municipal corporation polls in UP as well.
Unlike Delhi, the number of RWAs is lesser in UP’s municipal corporations, which mainly exist in Ghaziabad, Meerut, Lucknow and Agra. Also, the party has decided to use various social media platforms for extensive campaigning in UP as it did in the MCD polls.
According to the UP AAP’s chief spokesperson Vaibhav Maheshwari, while contesting the UP civic polls the party will make promises to end alleged corruption in house and water taxes besides ensuring relief from parking mafias and providing free drinking water. The party will also pledge permanent employment for safai workers and the opening of mohalla clinics.
The AAP has formed a state-level committee to screen the applications of poll ticket seekers for the posts of mayors and chairpersons of nagar panchayats and palika parishads.
While the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has formally not declared any list of candidates so far, the party’s “bhaavi pratyashi (future candidates)” have started opening their offices with the party leaders also holding public meetings in their support.
For example, public meetings were recently held in support of prospective chairperson candidates in the Narpat Nagar nagar panchayat in Rampur district and the Lawar nagar panchayat in Meerut district.
The AAP is also holding “Tiranga Shakhas” in wards besides the meetings of district presidents and district in-charge as part of its civic poll preparations. In some areas, the party has also announced “ward prabhari (ward in-charge)” for shortlisted ticket aspirants whose candidature has not been formally announced.
Maheshwari said, “Before MCD polls, AAP has also won seats in civic polls in Madhya Pradesh and Assam as well. People are showing trust in AAP because they find themselves connected with the party and its candidates.” He added that the AAP will release a manifesto for the UP civic polls, listing promises related to basic problems that people face in cleanliness, water tax, house tax, parking and amenities in public parks, among other issues.
The chairman of the AAP’s UP state local body election committee, Sabhajeet Singh said, “AAP will contest across UP in civic polls. Applications from ticket seekers have been collected and their screening has started. Party will declare the candidates once the election schedule is announced.”
Singh said that the AAP has been making preparations for the UP polls and has organised over 800 workers’ meetings in recent weeks across the state.
In the 2017 UP civic polls, a number of the AAP candidates had got elected including as two nagar panchayat chairpersons, three municipal corporators, 17 members in nagar palika and 19 members in nagar panchayats.
Currently, there are 762 urban local bodies, including 17 municipal corporations, 200 nagar palika parishads and 545 nagar panchayats across UP. The total population living under these civic bodies is 4.85 crore. There are altogether 1,420 wards in the 17 municipal corporations.
