Kejriwal, AAP ready to surprise Narendra Modi's Gujarat ahead of poll

Ahmedabad, Feb 18: It has been observed that Bharatiya Janata Party (

) and Congress are the only two political parties which have been ruling the western state of the country --

. But now, it seems that Arvind Kejriwal's party -- Aam Aadmi Party (

) is all set to surprise the state ahead of Lok Sabha election which is due by May 2014.

Media reports quoted party spokesperson -- Sukhdev Patel as saying that AAP is confident to break in the jinx in Narendra Modi's Gujarat as they are coming with 'alternatives'.

Several small and big political parties were seen trying to build a strong base in Gujarat ever since its inception in 1960. However, they failed to leave a mark in the state. Unlike Gujarat, many other Indian states have witnessed the rise and stability of regional parties permanently.

Former Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel had formed his Kisan Mazdoor Lok Paksh (KIMLOP) but it did not take off as expected. Later, he along with Chabbildas Mehta formed Janta Dal (Gujarat) also, but later merged it with the Congress party.

AAP is confident to break in jinx in Narendra Modi's Gujarat with alternatives

Another ex-Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela, dividing the BJP formed his own party called Rashtriya Janta Party (RJP), which he later amalgamated into the Congress due to lack of electoral success.

Third former chief minister Keshubhai Patel formed the Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) just before the 2012 elections but now is on the verge of merging with BJP after his announcement to retire and other members mulling to rejoin BJP.

Many other small parties were formed but did not survive in Gujarat. Also, neither Left or other regional parties like Shiv Sena which tried to spread its wings met any success.

"It is true that no third party has survived in the state except BJP and Congress... we accept it but AAP is different than political parties which were created earlier," Mr Patel said.

"In the past, dissidents of BJP or Congress had revolted to form political parties as they felt that injustice have been meted out to them. They could not succeed in elections and all the parties formed by them had to wind up," he said.

"AAP is different, as it is not a regional party but a national party, formed with a view to give a corruption-free governance," Mr Patel said.

"If membership drive before the Lok Sabha elections are any indication, we have so far been able to register four lakh people from Gujarat, which shows that general public is not happy with either the ruling BJP or Congress," Mr Patel said.

"There is a match fixing between Congress and BJP and that is the reason people are coming in large number to join us," he said.

The Congress and BJP have however, dismissed the possibility of AAP emerging as a third party in the state 'defying history'.

"In the history of this state, it has not accepted any third party, unlike in many other states. They might get some benefit of their stance against corruption but the party has not yet made any mark in Gujarat," Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

A BJP leader said, "Any number of parties are welcome to fight elections here, but the historical trend has been that the state has accepted a two-party system and rejected the third party outrightly."

OneIndia News
(With agency inputs)