AAP’s first national convention on November 26

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will commemorate its fifth foundation day by organising its first national convention in Delhi on November 26.

“All the ups and downs, successes and failures will be remembered at the event,” said Gopal Rai, party’s senior leader and national executive convener, during an interaction with party workers on Google Hangout with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday.

Kejriwal ,along with other activists of the then India Against Corruption (IAC), had launched the party on November 26, 2012, on the occasion of Constitution Day, following differences with Anna Hazare who led the anti-graft movement.

“We have shortlisted three venues (for the convention) and will decide the final venue soon. The event will start at 12 noon and we have to make sure that many Delhi residents attend it,” Rai said.

The convention will be the first on a national level and might be the party’s show of strength ahead of the assembly polls in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. The AAP, which is in power in Delhi and is the principal opposition in Punjab, currently has four MPs, 86 MLAs and 52 councillors. It polled 6.3% votes in the Goa assembly elections in February this year. It is also testing waters in local bodies’ polls in Uttar Pradesh.

The party has already started mobilising public support for the event. It held one event in Talkatora Stadium in April, 2015 after coming to power in Delhi for the second time. In August 2014, the party, in a show of strength, organised a rally at Jantar Mantar soon after Arvind Kejriwal quit as the Delhi chief minister post the 49-day stint.

Apart from the general meetings with workers, the party has divided Delhi into two regions based on the Lok Sabha segments as a communication strategy. Two WhatsApp numbers — one for east, north-east, Chandni Chowk and New Delhi parliamentary constituencies, and another for west, north-west and south parliamentary constituencies— have been circulated among workers for the purpose.

“The two numbers will be distributed among the mandal (block)-level workers of all the Lok Sabha areas. They have to make sure to add these numbers in their WhatsApp list and send a ‘hello’ message. All the messages from the party received from these numbers have to be shared with other WhatsApp groups or contacts to spread the message across,” Rai said.