Delhi Bye-Election 2014: AAP to tweak method of candidate selection, Delhi assembly bye elections 2014, Delhi bye election news updates, Delhi political news, latest and political news 2014
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- Last Updated: Thursday, 22 January 2015 21:07
Delhi Bye-Election 2014: AAP to tweak method of candidate selection
NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party, which has been in full poll mode since the past few months, claims to have broadly shortlisted candidates for all 70 constituencies for the next Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections. The party has said that all sitting MLAs will be fielded from their respective constituencies, unless one chooses not to contest. In fact, those who came a close second in the 2013 elections will also probably find their names on the final list.
The party will also move away from its candidate selection procedure used for the assembly and Lok Sabha elections and there might not be public scrutiny of candidates like the last time. Senior party member Manish Sisodia said that a new, "more practical" mechanism would be devised. "The procedure for candidate selection, different for the assembly and Lok Sabha elections, was quite complicated. This time we will look for the middle path and come up with something easier to implement," he said.
In the 2013 assembly elections, the party had shortlisted candidates for each constituency and invited comments and objections from the public. In Lok Sabha elections, while public scrutiny was not invited, the party had asked for hundreds of signatures for each candidate. Sources say this time volunteers in each constituency may play a more important role in finalizing candidates. The party has 27 sitting MLAs and will have to find new candidates for 43 constituencies.
Till some months ago, when middle class anger with the party for having resigned from Delhi was at its peak, AAP had even considered changing constituencies of strong candidates who were then representing areas with a strong middle class composition.
Now, there is a new found confidence among the party cadre, something that will be tested when fresh elections take place. Till then, AAP members say that they have nothing to be scared about.
"Few months earlier, we were not sure if AAP could perform well in certain upscale areas, irrespective of what we did or how many times we apologized. In case of fresh elections, we thought that we would shift the sitting MLAs from such constituencies to others. However, the party has been working hard over the past few months to connect with residents and we believe that there is a perceptible change. As of now, all existing MLAs will be contesting from their respective constituencies," said party sources.