On March 14, Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab's Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addressed an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) public meeting at Bhopal's BHEL Dussehra Maidan, which is being regarded as the party's announcement for the upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. Kejriwal reiterated that AAP would contest all 230 assembly seats and criticized the Congress for being saleable while accusing the BJP of subverting democracy.
The public meeting was attended by a few thousand people, but the question remains: how does AAP stand in the MP elections? AAP's most significant electoral victory in the state has been in the mayoral election in Singrauli, where its candidate won in a direct contest against the BJP and Congress during the urban local body polls last year. AAP claims to have won more than 52 seats of corporators in the three-tier urban bodies. However, the party had fielded 1,500 candidates in the urban local body polls but only received just over 6% of the vote.
The other issue affecting AAP is the absence of a prominent leader to project as chief minister. While AAP carried out a massive recruitment drive across the state, it failed to attract any big leader. AAP is primarily viewed as an urban phenomenon in MP, and it could potentially make some gains by fielding individuals of public standing as candidates on some seats. Nonetheless, the party may face a daunting challenge to make a mark in the MP elections.