AAP on expansion drive in Karnataka, sets sights on making a mark in BBMP polls

The Aam Aadmi Party sees huge potential for growth and has embarked on setting foot in Karnataka by making inroads in the state’s political map. On the electoral front, the party’s immediate aim is to do well in the polls to the city’s civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) expected later this year, says its state unit Vice President Bhaskar Rao.

AAP has targeted to enroll 10,000 members in each of the city’s 243 wards, he told PTI.

At the state-level, the party has started a programme — ‘Gram Sampark Abhiyaan’ — by which it is trying to expand the network of the organisation from the grassroots. The party has also put in place 10 frontal organisations, including wings of women, youth, OBC, SC/ST, traders, farmers and professionals, said Rao, a former Bengaluru Police Commissioner. ”We are on a membership drive, enrolling as many people as possible showing the good work that we have done in Delhi (under AAP government),” he said. ”We see a huge growth potential in Karnataka”.

Chief Whip of the Delhi government and party election in-charge of Karnataka Dilip Pandey is visiting Bengaluru this week. Pandey is slated to inaugurate AAP’s media centre at the party’s Karnataka head office here on Tuesday.

Rao acknowledged that AAP faced challenges on the growth front in the face of strong presence of other parties.

”We have a huge challenge because both the BJP and Congress are strong, and JD(S) is also a force to reckon with,” he said.

”Our biggest challenge is going to be investment in visibility and that’s going to be a huge expenditure”.

But the retired IPS officer hastened to add: ”We will definitely make an impact. All the three parties have woken up and taken note of us”.

Rao made it clear the party does not want to bring in people from other parties who have lost elections, and politicians with bad reputation.

”We don’t mind losing elections in a place but we want to put up a good candidate. We are a new party and we have got to go a long way. As long as we are in the right direction, even if we are going slowly, it’s fine,” he said.