 "AAP to contest in 10 Lok Sabha seats minimum in Tamil Nadu")
The Party which is planning to kick start its Lok Sabha campaign in the State in the next few days said it will put forth domestic issues like water, power, fishermen and others during the campaign.
Anand Ganesh, the party's state treasurer and one of the eight members of the core team in the State, said the party would contest for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and Delhi election was a proving ground for the Party.
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“We have not taken a final decision on how many seats we will be contesting in Tamil Nadu, but definitely it will not be less than 10. We may even look at contesting in all the seats”.
Tamil Nadu has 39 seats in all, and one of the key six states which together accounts for 54% of the Parliament Seats.
Ganesh settles down on AAP's new office terrace - as the Party's around 700-750 sq.ft office was packed with people, mainly youngsters, walking in from various parts of the State and waiting for their turn to get registered as members/volunteers - to speak with Business Standard about AAP's strategy in the State.
As one walks into AAP's office, the first thing will catch their eye would be a poster, which says “Netru (Yesterday) DMK, Indru (today) AIADMK, Naalai (tomorrow) Aam Aadmi?”.
The poster is a promotional poster of the vernacular sensational magazine Nakkeran, which was in display at AAP's office.
Ganesh said his party, in Tamil Nadu, is not going to look at other parties' manifesto or going to criticise it.
“Our policy and our manifesto is going to be independent, based on what People bring to our notice on the issues they face. We are not going to be part of an offensive politics, we are going to play a clean politics,” said Ganesh, who is a Doctor by profession but decided to quit his profession to choose politics.
The party is planning to start its Lok Sabha campaign in the next 10 days. Some of the key issues it would focus during its campaign include power, water, fishermen and of course the corruption.
A Research Committee has been formed to advise on the issues, says Ganesh, who noted, there are about 13,000 main water bodies across the State, of which only 4000-5000 are now used.
Both the Dravidaian governments (the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the past- Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)) have failed to address these issues, alleges Ganesh.
The party is also going to look at health care in a big way, he adds, that every suburb would have a multi-specialty hospital, if AAP is voted for power from the State.
Last, but not the least, the manifesto would also focus on power cuts. Renewable energy will be the thrust and energy conservation will be the key on the agenda, said Ganesh.
To a question on AAP's visibility in the State, Ganesh says “people in the State want a non-Dravidian (AIADMK & DMK) party and they gave a chance to Vijaykanth, but he disappeared”.
The actor-turned politician Vijaykanth's party Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) emerged as the main opposition in the State Assembly after winning 29 seats in the 2011 assembly election.
According to Ganesh, even before Delhi election, AAP was active in 16 districts across Tamil Nadu and after Delhi election the Party's visibility increased many folds across the State, thanks to the reach of Media.
“Almost every Newspaper carry half page News on AAP almost on a daily basis. Unlike people in the city, who just go through headline in rural areas people read full News,” added Ganesh.
The party currently has around 50,000 members in the State with 20,000 volunteers. Ever since it launched membership drive through SMS, close to a month ago, the Party got around 40,000 people registered in its database.
According to Ganesh, 30% of them are from rural parts of Tamil Nadu and average age is 33.
Ganesh said, some of the known figures from the Chennai corporate circle have expressed interest in joining the Party and the names will be declared at the State Level Meeting of the Party which is scheduled on January 18 and 19. Arvind Kejriwal may participate in the Meeting.
The party has set the target to get more than 5 lakh members in the state before January, said Ganesh.
However, AAP would require three things to start with, to gain support in the state, says Gnani Sankaran, writer and political analyst. They would require a charismatic local leadership like Kejriwal or Yogendra Singh Yadav, which is not there at present.
The party also require a Tamil identity and for AAP, the name itself is not in Tamil. Also, the party should make its stand clear on issues relevant to the State, for instance, on the issues of Kaveri, Mullaiperiyar or in the Sri Lankan Tamilian's issues.“
They are yet to come out addressing these issues. Corruption cannot be the only issue for them in Tamil Nadu,” he said.