AAP shifts its focus to south

New Delhi/hyderabad: After scripting history in Punjab and winning two seats in Goa Assembly, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has now set its eyes on south. As part of it, the party has kicked off membership campaigns throughout the region, and is also planning to hold massive padayatras in Telangana and aims to target every Assembly constituency.

Speaking to The Hans India, AAP senior leader and Telangana in-charge Somnath Bharti stated that the party was yet to identify the face of AAP in Telangana.

He said, "Our first padayatra will be held in Telangana on April 14, to mark the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar. Through this padayatra, the AAP will take the politics of Kejriwal and the ideals of Babasaheb and Saheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh to every resident of the region. AAP Tamil Nadu State joint secretary Sudha and Telangana Search Committee chairperson Indira Shoban will be coordinating in organising these programmes."

Bharti said that the recent mandate has made it clear that Indians want to go beyond the politics of hate and want to opt for the Kejriwal model. After AAP's thunderous victory in Punjab, people from the southern region, particularly from Telangana, have started showing interest in the party, he claimed. "Though the 29th State was formed after a long struggle, K Chandrashekar Rao's led Telangana Rashtra Samithi which formed the first government only played with the emotions of those who fought for the State. The TRS had broken all the promises it had made during the struggle period," Bharti added.

He said, "Seeing the mood of Telangana and the whole of south India and taking into account the response our teams in the south have been receiving, we decided to kick off membership campaigns throughout Telangana. Under the leadership of our local teams, these campaigns will be actively penetrating into Telangana followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep."

When asked what AAP would do if ambitious people who want to ride on AAP's popularity try to join the party, he said, "We only take those who have pious intentions. I welcome all those with positive mindsets and clear intentions. Those who are being suffocated by their own parties can join AAP." In Andhra Pradesh too, the situation is not different. It looks like people there voted for Jagan Reddy, but have got a BJP-style rule instead. The south definitely needs a change and now is the time to push for it, the AAP leader noted.