'BJP is scared of AAP; will prepone Assembly polls in Gujarat & HP': Arvind Kejriwal

In a massive claim on Saturday, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal asserted that the Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will be preponed. In 2018, Gujarat went to the polls in two phases on December 9 and 14 whereas the voting for the Himachal Pradesh election took place on November 9. According to the Delhi CM, the reason for the likely preponement of the election dates was the BJP's fear of AAP as a rising force in both these states. 

Arvind Kejriwal remarked, "There is a buzz all around. My people have told me that they are scared of AAP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Why are you scared of AAP? We are small people. They are scared of you-the people. They have decided to prepone the Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Do not worry, come together. Whether they conduct them (polls) in June, July, or December, this time AAP should be in power."

AAP's confidence in expanding its presence across the country comes in the wake of the party winning 92 seats in the 2022 Punjab elections, which is the single highest number of seats won by any party since the reorganisation of the state in 1966. Moreover, political heavyweights including Charanjit Singh Channi, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal and Amarinder Singh also lost their respective seats to AAP candidates. While it drew a blank in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party opened its account in Goa by bagging two seats. 

AAP eyes inroads in Himachal Pradesh

In the 2017 HP Assembly election, BJP won 44 seats in the 68-member Assembly. However, Jairam Thakur emerged as the consensus choice for the CM's post after BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal lost the election. On the other hand, the Sonia Gandhi-led party was reduced to 21 seats. The BJP government suffered a setback last year after Congress won the by-election to the Assembly seats of Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai and the Lok Sabha constituency of Mandi. AAP is aiming to emerge as a key opposition force in HP which has traditionally been a bipolar contest between BJP and Congress. 

Political scenario in Gujarat

Gujarat has proved to be an impregnable fortress for BJP as it has been winning the Assembly polls in the state since 1995. In the 2017 election, there was a nail-biting contest between the saffron party and Congress which was bolstered by the fiery campaign of Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Thakor. In the end, BJP won 99 seats in the 182-member Assembly whereas the Sonia Gandhi-led party bagged an impressive 77 seats. After a series of defections though, BJP currently has 111 seats in the state Assembly as compared to Congress' 64 seats.