AAP launches sanitation drive to connect with people in U.P.
The central leadership of the AAP has planned to carry out such drives once a month across the state
In a bid to connect with people at the grassroot level, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday launched a statewide sanitation campaign in Uttar Pradesh to clean monuments, rivers, parks and statues of freedom fighters.
In the state capital, AAP launched the campaign from the Gandhi statue in Hazratganj. Sanjay Singh, party’s state incharge and Rajya Sabha MP, launched the campaign from Dr Ambedkar Park in Khora, Ghaziabad.
The central leadership of the AAP has planned to carry out such drives once a month across the state. After facing defeat in Delhi assembly polls held recently, the AAP is making efforts to consolidate its base in Uttar Pradesh by reaching out to people through social works.
However, party’s efforts to consolidate its base in the state have failed in the past. The party has not been able to make any considerable gain politically in Uttar Pradesh that sends the largest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha.
Except civic polls, the AAP has not contested the last two assembly and Lok poll in the state. It has not been able to make foray into mainline electoral politics of the state despite all efforts in the past several years.
AAP’s tryst with electoral politics of Uttar Pradesh began in the 2014 Lok Sabha election with the then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging Narendra Modi in Varanasi. Modi won by a margin of over 3.7 lakh votes.
Even in the recently concluded bypolls to nine assembly seats in the state, no AAP leader campaigned. Party’s central leadership was focused on Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly polls and left Uttar Pradesh at the discretion of the state unit.
In the state capital, AAP launched the campaign from GPO Park in Hazratganj. However, the party had planned to start the campaign by cleaning the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar which is installed at Hazratganj crossing.
But the gates of the monument where the statue is installed were locked. Thereafter, the AAP workers went to the nearby GPO Park where Mahatma Gandhi’s statue is installed.
