Gujarat: AAP to Form a Government Only on Social Media? Even ‘Hopeful’ Seats are Expected to Slip Away

All the important seats of the Aam Aadmi Party were in Saurashtra and South Gujarat, on which voting was held on December 1. In none of these seats, there seemed to be an atmosphere in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party.

BY MEGHALSINH PARMAR

Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is contesting for the first time on all the seats in the Gujarat assembly elections, left no stone unturned to create an atmosphere till the end. From mainstream media to social media, the Aam Aadmi Party has been in discussion everywhere. But after the first phase of polling on December 1, one has to wonder if AAP would even claim the second place.

Outside Gujarat and especially in the media circles of Delhi, there are talks of the Aam Aadmi Party moving towards Gujarat now. But the truth is that after the first phase of voting yesterday, it became clear that the party is not getting a good response on the ground. Even in the seats where the Aam Aadmi Party had a little bit of existence, the discussions are revolving around if it will be able to remain in second or third place.

All the important seats of the Aam Aadmi Party were in Saurashtra and South Gujarat, on which voting was held on December 1. In none of these seats, there seemed to be an atmosphere in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party.

BJP has the upper hand in both the Varachha and Katargam seats of Surat

The Aam Aadmi Party had the highest focus on Varachha Road and Katargam seats in Surat city and two well-known faces were fielded on the seats. In the Katargam seat, the party’s state president Gopal Italia himself contested, while in the Varachha seat, Alpesh Kathiria, who became famous for the PAAS movement, was made the candidate.

The Aam Aadmi Party had created some atmosphere here in the initial stages and the rest of the work was done by mainstream media and social media. But sources interested in local politics say that in the last five days, the situation had completely changed and the atmosphere had turned pro-BJP, which was also seen in the voting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow and Varachha rally took place in the last five days. Apart from this, PM Modi also held some meetings in Surat, which also had a big impact on the political atmosphere.

On the voting in the Varachha seat, sources said that there was some voting in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party for two-three hours in the morning, but later their tables were seen empty throughout the day. Also, there was a lack of enthusiasm among the local workers about voting.

Talking about the Katargam seat, there was no public favor for Gopal Italia or Aam Aadmi Party here too. Local sources say that it will not be surprising if the BJP wins the Katargam seat with the biggest lead in Surat city.

In such a situation, the two seats in Surat where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had some hopes, also seem to have slipped from AAP after the voting.

Will Isudan Gadhvi – the CM candidate of AAP – be able to save his seat?

The party’s CM face Isudan Gadhvi contested the Khambhaliya seat. However, he had yesterday announced that the AAP is going to win 51 of the 89 seats. But given the local equations, it is a big question whether Isudan Gadhvi will be able to save his seat in the first place. A detailed analysis of this meeting has already been given by OpIndia.

In short, whatever little air was in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party completely disappeared after this poll. However, the second phase of polling is yet to take place, but if such a situation is there from where the party emerged, then there does not seem to be any major achievement in the north and central Gujarat where voting is yet to take place.

(This is the republished version; this has been previously published in OpIndia).