 "AAP seeks first-mover advantage")
They argued if the party ticket went to a Muslim candidate, their votes would be divided between the AAP and the current Congress legislator Hasan Ahmed, resulting in an easy victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP's) Hindu candidate. The seat is dominated by Hindu voters.
In the adjoining room some party workers were discussing strategy for those polling booths where the party fared poorly during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The party workers believed if they could work harder on these assembly segments, they stood a good chance against the BJP, which is hoping to ride to power on a Narendra Modi wave. (RESURGENT AAP DARES BJP)
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The AAP's optimism stems from the fact that its vote share increased in Delhi during the assembly elections despite a strong Modi wave and many of its supporters voting for a BJP government at the Centre. The AAP vote share was 33.06 per cent and 29.64 per cent for Delhi in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, respectively.
Besides wooing Muslim voters from the Congress and waiting for its voters to return to elect an AAP government in the Delhi assembly elections scheduled on February 7, the party has once again become active on social media and radio channels. The advertisements suggest the AAP is taking the elections seriously and it has transformed.
To begin with, the AAP announced the names of its candidates three months prior to declaration of elections to undo the negative publicity the party generated after its chief Arvind Kejriwal resigned as Delhi's chief minister. Many socialites, activists and voters were disenchanted by the actions of other leaders and the party's politics of agitation. The AAP is looking to avoid dharna (protest) this time.
AAP leaders say each candidate is holding at least two-three Mohalla Sabhas in their constituencies to explain Kejriwal's resignation. On projectors, the party is screening a short movie highlighting the achievements of its 49 days of governance.
Beginning November Kejriwal, too, has held at least 50 such meetings, offering an apology for his mistakes. He promises to complete five years this time and is promising people development rather than anti-corruption rhetoric. The response has been lukewarm given the AAP's style of holding small meetings.
"The party was born out of anger against corruption of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. But today people are not angry, they are looking forward to development," says party leader and contestant Adarsh Shastri.
"Just saying we are honest will not win us the elections. We are telling people specific things that we will do for them. We did make a mistake by quitting, but we did not commit a crime," Shastri added.
By the end of November the transformed party, with organising structure till booth level, had launched a programme called Delhi Dialogue targeting the youth, women and traders to discuss sanitation, social welfare, education, health, transportation, water and rural Delhi.
For water conversation, the AAP is contemplating doubling the house tax for those who do not harvest rainwater and halving it for those who do. More colleges, wi-fi and CCTV cameras in the city, and piped water to each household in the next five years are among many other promises it is making to the people of Delhi.
For votes, it is mostly banking on the poor and a further deterioration the Congress, which was reduced to eight seats in the 2013 assembly elections. The BJP had won 32 and the AAP clinched 28 seats in its maiden election.
"Among the top half (of society) the hostility has diminished considerably as compared to what we had experienced three months after the Lok Sabha elections," said party ideologue Yogendra Yadav.
"Modi's silence on issues such as Ghar Vapsi, banning PK and statues for Nathuram Godse has made educated and discerning voters at least listen to us," he added.
The party, which was embroiled in slugfests during the previous two elections, has deliberately decided not to attack either the BJP or the Congress this time. It is focusing more on the BJP's weakness. For instance, it moved on the ground when the Delhi BJP unit was disoriented due to internal politics. The AAP is telling the people that Modi cannot rule the Delhi government and the BJP does not have a chief ministerial candidate either.
"It is better to vote for Kejriwal. He is not only honest but also readily available to the people of Delhi," said a leader of the AAP.
Many in the BJP admitted taking the AAP for granted could be a mistake. "We are hearing of some sort of resurgence in the AAP. This could be due to our lack of projection of a leader," said a BJP leader who refused to be named. The BJP is focusing on those assembly seats it had lost by narrow margins in 2013. "If we win these seats, we can comfortably form a government. Anyway, the AAP will not get a majority," the leader added.
There is a section in the AAP which fears although the party started campaigning early, rallies by Modi and the BJP's election blitz might gain momentum at the last minute.
To match the BJP's prowess, the AAP is planning to raise Rs 30 crore to spend on party activities. Unlike the last time, it has asked candidates to generate their own funds. Through lunches and coffees with Kejriwal, the party has managed to generate around Rs 3 crore for the elections. It is expected to receive more donations from January 12, when elections were announced.
It is using some leftover money from the general elections. Since its inception, the AAP has raised Rs 45 crore from 118 countries, as of January 12. The onus, however, will be on the BJP, which has been sitting in the Opposition benches in the Delhi assembly for the last 15 years and is largely dependent on Modi to win the state as he did in Jharkhand, Haryana and Maharashtra. People say in these states there was no alternative to the incumbent government, but in Delhi the AAP is emerging as a formidable force.