The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday announced that it would be contesting the Assembly elections in the northeastern state of Mizoram. Addressing a press conference, the party’s North-East States in-charge, Rajesh Sharma, told reporters present that a decision was made to expand the organisation and contest elections in the northeastern states during a meeting on Sunday which was chaired by the party’s national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“We will field candidates in few selective seats where there is party’s presence. Our effort is to contest in 11 seats in and around the capital city of Aizawl. The party will release the list in the next two days,” Sharma said. “A coordination committee and a North-East cell will be formed for organisational expansion,” the in-charge added.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led party had earlier announced its intentions to contest in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. Monday’s announcement now adds Mizoram to the list of states where allied I.N.D.I.A bloc parties will face off against each other.
Sharma said the people in the northeast are “grappling” with issues related to education, healthcare, inflation, and unemployment, and that they believe that the AAP can provide solutions to these problems. He said the state committee would soon announce the details on the number of seats it would be contesting from and the names of the constituencies.
AAP’s decision to enter the electoral arena will put it in a fight against the Congress party, further exposing cracks within the Opposition parties’ alliance. The party had earlier voiced its displeasure with the Congress for refusing to leave seats for its allies in four of the five states that are set to go to polls soon. Since the party is on good terms with K Chandrashekar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samhiti (BRS) in Telangana, political observers say the AAP may not venture into the southern state as it did with the others.
