AAP To Contest All 90 Haryana Seats: Can SC Bail To Kejriwal, His Charisma, Freebies Break Congress-BJP Stronghold?

A day before the Supreme Court granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor scam case, the Aam Aadmi Party released its final list of candidates for Haryana Assembly Election 2024, making it clear in the most unambiguous terms that the party will contest all seats. After the seat-sharing talks with the Congress Party collapsed, the party declared to go to the polls in full gung-ho, even though it has not won a single seat in the state. The release of Delhi CM will certainly boost the cadre's morale and swing the voters' mood in its favour. But will it also change the political dynamics of the state and help the AAP register victory in the Haryana Assembly Election 2024?

Will Politics OF Freebies Work?

Besides fighting against corruption, reportedly exemplary performance in school education and hospital management is the main electoral plank of the AAP. It has also been able to woo a large section of voters in Delhi by supplying free electricity for up to 200 units and free rides for women and girls in Delhi Transport Corporation buses.  Will Arvind Kejriwal go the people of Haryana with these freebies and will the electorate bite the golden bullet?

Is Arvind Kejriwal’s Charisma Still Intact?

Above all, is the charisma of Arvind Kejriwal still intact after he uprooted the seemingly invincible Congress in the capital city? Will he be able to successfully play the victim card and convince the people of his innocence and the alleged mala fide intention of the Enforcement Department, whom he has accused of framing him deliberately?

AAP Leaders In Haryana

Much before the seat-sharing talks with the Congress started, the AAP seized the opportunity and fielded Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Raghav Chaddha, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, who spread across the state and held rallies, roadshows, street meetings and launched door-to-door campaign.

AAP Wants 10 Seats

Political observers believe all the preparations were made so that the groundwork is done to impress the grand old party and extract the maximum pound of flesh from it in terms of the number of seats. If media reports are to be believed, the AAP demanded ten seats, including, Gurugram, Faridabad, Panipat, Jind, Pehowa, and Kalayat. Political observers also believe former Haryana Chief Minister Bhoopinder Singh Hooda was not interested in giving any concession to the AAP, though he initiated talks under the pressure of Rahul Gandhi, who wanted to keep the unity of the Opposition coalition INDIA intact.

Did Hooda Sabotage Talks?

Hooda thought that the AAP should not be given any seat to contest lest it develops its own roots deep into the electorate and may demand more pound of flesh in future elections. Further, he also believed that the Congress Party can fight on all seats on its own and does not need any help from any party. He was opposed to any deal with the AAP. The talks collapsed and an angry AAP announced the names for all 90 seats, irrespective of its weakness and strength or the possibility of winning any one of them.

Will AAP Make Inroads?

Political analysts believe the Arvind Kejriwal-led party will not be able to make any dent in either the BJP-dominated constituency or the Congress-dominated constituency. It is also likely to lose the deposits in most of the constituencies, except Kurukshetra, where it can get a respectable number of votes, though it may lose even this seat.

Though Arvind Kejriwal is from Haryana, he has never been active in state politics, he has no base, and no clout. The civil servant-turned-politician has never been a part of the 'khap panchayat' politics, not a part of the caste-based politics. In short, Kejriwal is most likely to feel like a fish out of water in Haryana politics.

Will the politics of freebies click in Haryana like other places? It is too early to gauge the impact of freebies in Haryana. Though the politics of freebies has given the AAP rich dividends in Delhi and Punjab it fell flat in states like Goa and Gujarat.