Insights of AAP Election Campaign from Chhattisgarh
After completing his PhD degree from the University of London, Dr Sanket returned to India and started working for the welfare of Indian farmers. He contributed to their cause for more than 20 years. It was 2006-07, when Dr. Sanket met Manish Sisodia who used to go to Chhattisgarh for educational programs. Since then, he started working with Manish and later became an active member of Anti Corruption Movement and joined Aam Aadmi Party. Social activist Dr. Sanket Thakur is currently the state convenor of AAP Chhattisgarh.
Dr. Sanket Thakur sopte to overseas volunteers during AAP Ka Radio conference call and discussed about AAP Chhattisgarh election campaign.
AAP as Strong Alternative: Tribals, farmers and labourers sum up to more than 90% of Chhattisgarh’s population. Due to 15 years of poor policies, corruption and pathetic governance model of BJP, people are suffering. The state was born in 2000 and has been ruled by both Congress and BJP but the situation remains same. People have now lost hope from any established political party. Fuelled with inspiration from the Delhi governance model, people are positive about AAP. This party is being considered as a strong alternative to BJP and Congress as people have realized that things will remain the same if they further vote for any of the more-than-a-decade old parties. AAP’s pro-farmer agenda items including focus on employment, improved agricultural environment, quality health and education are attracting Chhattisgarh voters.
Dr. Sanket Thakur sopte to overseas volunteers during AAP Ka Radio conference call and discussed about AAP Chhattisgarh election campaign.
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| AAP Chhattisgarh Leader Dr. Sanket Thakur campaigning in his constituency |
AAP as Strong Alternative: Tribals, farmers and labourers sum up to more than 90% of Chhattisgarh’s population. Due to 15 years of poor policies, corruption and pathetic governance model of BJP, people are suffering. The state was born in 2000 and has been ruled by both Congress and BJP but the situation remains same. People have now lost hope from any established political party. Fuelled with inspiration from the Delhi governance model, people are positive about AAP. This party is being considered as a strong alternative to BJP and Congress as people have realized that things will remain the same if they further vote for any of the more-than-a-decade old parties. AAP’s pro-farmer agenda items including focus on employment, improved agricultural environment, quality health and education are attracting Chhattisgarh voters.
The Volunteer Network: Earlier in March when Arvind Kejriwal visited Raipur, he was overwhelmed with the support of people. It was all because of AAP’s strong organizational structure in Chhattisgarh. AAP leaders in Chhattisgarh remained united even when the party was about to split after Yogendra Yadav’s Swaraj Abhiyan. Prominent leaders from the state such as Soni Sori were called by Swaraj Abhiyan leaders but they remained united with AAP. Both Dr. Sanket Thakur and Soni Sori are working with the people of Chhattisgarh for a very long time. With the help of other team members over a period of couple of years, they established a robust volunteer network across Chhattisgarh. People of every class, caste and religion joined the party hoping for a better future. Situation in Chhattisgarh is very similar to Delhi and people are ready for change.
By-Elections and Organization: Organizational development expert Gopal Rai took charge of Chhattisgarh AAP unit in Sept 2016. He converted a team primarily comprising of activists in various fields to a politically mature team by building a solid ground network of volunteers at booth level. In his frequent visits to Chhattisgarh, Gopal Rai travelled across the state and became familiar with local issues. Recently AAP won several seats in local by-elections (e.g. gram panchayat, jila panchayat, district committee). In 2014 itself, AAP candidates won 1.5 to 2% of votes on each parliament seat which is equivalent to 10000 to 15000 votes in each constituency. This was achieved when there did not exist a properly functioning AAP body in Chhattisgarh and the party was confined to 9 districts only.
AAP will be contesting on all 90 seats in the upcoming Chhattisgarh assembly elections. Complete list of candidates can be accessed here. Recently AAP Chhattisgarh has announced its CM candidate as Komal Hupendi.
Campaign Challenges: AAP Chhattisgarh candidates are mainly focused on door-to-door campaigns. You may not see AAP ads on TV, social media or big hoardings but local media is providing good enough coverage to their campaign. While campaigning, volunteers pay careful heed to voters’ problems and note them down for manifesto preparation. After initial ignorance from big media houses, they have also started talking about AAP’s candidates after realizing their potential. Volunteer teams consist of a minimum 10 people who are active at booth level in more than 65 vidhan sabha areas. There are some challenges in naxal affected areas as locals are afraid to identify with a political party. In rest of the places, team is working very good and taking AAP message to the last door.
Funds: At present, AAP Chhattisgarh team is struggling with funds. They are trying to manage the campaign with minimum expenditure, still some of the candidates are lacking funds even to get the campaign pamphlet printed. Any kind of help from AAP supporters will be highly appreciated in this regard. AAP central team denied any kind of financial support and has also stopped AAP Ka Daan campaign. Earlier, state units were able to fundraise money for election campaigns by accepting micro donations of Rs 5, 10, 15 and 20. When a total of Rs 5000 would be collected, it was deposited into party bank account. Multiple deposits of Rs 5000 raised a red flag and income-tax department sent an explanation notice to AAP. As of now, AAP accepts donations via online transactions, demand drafts and cheques only. While the team is resolving the issue with income tax department, AAP has stopped AAP Ka Daan campaign.
On October 15th, AAP launched “Aap ka Daan, Rashtra ka Nirmaan” campaign to raise funds.
Farmers are coming in support of AAP and donating whatever they can for the state of Chhattisgarh. Dr Sanket and his team is approaching former Chhattisgarh residents, celebrities, influential people and award winners and appealing them to contribute for better future of the state and their loved ones.
Campaign Organization: Being it Delhi or any other state, when it comes to effective election campaigning, AAP is always winning the ground by developing strategies utilizing minimum funds. While other parties are still deciding their candidates, AAP not only announced all of their candidates but also organized more than 2 massive campaigns. Their team is going door to door with a pamphlet of candidate description and comparison of achievements of AAP Delhi VS Raman Singh Govt. Work is compared in the field of education, health, industry, service sectors etc. With lesson learned from other states, AAP is fighting elections on all seats with local leadership. Candidate selection process was focused on non-corrupt, non-criminal and non-communal candidates.
Watch complete video of Dr. Sanket Thakur speaking to overseas volunteers during AAP Ka Radio Conference Call on Aug 19th, 2018.
AAP USA chapter organizes a weekly conference call (AAP Ka Radio) every Sunday at noon 12:00PM EST. More details about the call and guest can be found at @aapchat (https://twitter.com/aapchat).
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