Is AAP only hype in Old Delhi?

People of India have been marked as a bunch who has become sick and tired of its leadership due to the rampant corruption. People are searching for alternatives. And this is easy for us to do because we are a democracy.

Five states of the country are going to assembly polls this November-December. But the seat of power, Delhi, is more in news.

It is because of two reasons: One, it has 15 year old chief minister Shiela Dikshit’s government which is hoping for a fourth time win. Second, the poll equations have been seriously disturbed by the alternative Aam Aadmi Party which is supposedly eating the vote share of the two major parties – Congress and BJP – in the state.

Various surveys, which were conducted by various channels and credible sources, have projected this Arvind Kejriwal led party as a major gainer in the Delhi assembly polls. They are indicating towards a hung assembly, if not less, given the fact that Kejriwal’s AAP will not support either of the major parties.

Kejriwal has done many things right for establishing his nascent party. His team not only did a door to door campaigning, it also created 70 manifestos for the 70 constituencies of the state keeping in mind the different problems and requirements they have.

Kejriwal has also been using his party symbol – broom – to its full might. His team has created a slogan: “jhadoo lagao, baiman bhagao” (sweep the corrupt away).

On Sunday, the AAP carried a jhadu lagao campaign in Old Delhi. Interestingly, it got a lukewarm response. The AAP has, till now, become an authority on mobilizing people. The low turnout was a letdown for it.

However, the party maintained that the low turnout was because of the day being a Sunday.

It should be noted that when Anna Hazare was leading anti-corruption movement, from where the AAP was formed, the weekends were the days which recorded the highest footfalls.

The low number of people can be indicative of many things. For one, the Old Delhi seat is Muslim dominated. As Kejriwal and its team will know, it is also a businessman’s haven. The issues there might be completely different and corruption might not be on top.

Also, the low turnout can be an indication that AAP has yet not been able to enter the fortress and is yet considered a hype.