AAP candidates list: This time, no shortlist or public opinion

New Delhi, Feb 17: Surprisingly, when Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party declared the list of candidates for Lok Sabha elections 2014, it didn't follow the protocol they followed while deciding candidates for the 2013 Delhi assembly elections. No shortlist of candidates was released to invite public opinion.

The party leadership said that eventhough no public opinion was invited, if any objections are received against a particular candidate and if the charges are proved against him/her, the candidature will be cancelled.

"The main problem with replicating the process for Lok Sabha was that we were inundated with applications. It was impossible to put up all applications on the website. Secondly, we had very little time to sort through them and put them up for comments. For that reason, we are open to changing candidates or even not fielding candidates from a particular seat if there they do not match up to AAP's standards," said a senior party member Sanjay Singh.

Where have the volunteers gone?

Sources say that AAP is facing the problem of lack of volunteers at booth level.

"In Delhi, we had a massive number of volunteers. AAP was also concentrated in the city and hence the curiosity about it much more. Now, there are not as many volunteers at each booth and it would have been unfair to carry out an election for tickets at the Lok Sabha level between 150-200 people. In this situation, the party's parliamentary affairs committee is following a rigorous system of first short listing names, interviewing candidates and then declaring their names. Subsequently, we are open to feedback on these candidates," said sources.

Oneindia News