Chastened by the fluctuations in its electoral returns, the Aam Aadmi Party is minimising its risks in the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections next year. The party has been selecting its candidates after seeking feedback from the electorate on its contestants in the 2013 assembly polls.
Last week, the party unveiled its list of candidates from 22 constituencies. While the list contained some names who managed to get re-nominated, it was more notable for the absences. A number of former contenders were denied ticket this time due to “bad performance” and “unpopularity”.
A senior leader of the AAP explained that its volunteers have been getting feedback on the 2013 party candidate, whether winning or losing, in each constituency. The evaluation was on several criteria, including the number of mohalla sabhas organised in the area and projects sanctioned there.
“The system was devised to determine if those candidates were productive and also whether the people will vote for them again,” said the senior leader. Those who did not fare well in the surveys are not likely to be fielded.
Gainer and losers
Four former legislators, in particular, were rated poorly by their constituents for failing to respond to complaints, said the leader. They were former Jangpura MLA and former assembly speaker Maninder Singh Dhir, former Trilokpuri MLA Raju Dhingan, former Patel Nagar MLA Veena Anand, and former Seemapuri MLA Dharmendra Koli.
While the others were condemned for “non-performance” alone, Dhingan also earned disapproval for failing to contain the communal tensions that broke out in the area last month. “We received complaints that they turned away a lot of residents, who came to them for resolution of problems, citing the political limbo in the Delhi assembly,” the leader said. Their re-nomination this time is unlikely.
According to a member of AAP’s political affairs committee, former law minister Somnath Bharti was re-nominated from the Malviya Nagar constituency, despite his vigilantism, since he received glowing feedback from the people. In January, Bharti had led a midnight raid on a few African nationals, accusing them of trafficking in sex and drugs.
Bimonthly affair
The party has been carrying out the feedback programme ever since it resigned from the Delhi government in February. Every two months, its volunteers visited 2,000-3,000 homes in each constituency, gathering feedback and reporting it to the block in-charge and then district in-charge. An independent observer in each constituency watched the process.
The observers’ assessments and the feedback were studied by AAP’s Delhi election campaign committee and political affairs committee before they decided on the candidates for the next election.
Last week, the party unveiled its list of candidates from 22 constituencies. While the list contained some names who managed to get re-nominated, it was more notable for the absences. A number of former contenders were denied ticket this time due to “bad performance” and “unpopularity”.
A senior leader of the AAP explained that its volunteers have been getting feedback on the 2013 party candidate, whether winning or losing, in each constituency. The evaluation was on several criteria, including the number of mohalla sabhas organised in the area and projects sanctioned there.
“The system was devised to determine if those candidates were productive and also whether the people will vote for them again,” said the senior leader. Those who did not fare well in the surveys are not likely to be fielded.
Gainer and losers
Four former legislators, in particular, were rated poorly by their constituents for failing to respond to complaints, said the leader. They were former Jangpura MLA and former assembly speaker Maninder Singh Dhir, former Trilokpuri MLA Raju Dhingan, former Patel Nagar MLA Veena Anand, and former Seemapuri MLA Dharmendra Koli.
While the others were condemned for “non-performance” alone, Dhingan also earned disapproval for failing to contain the communal tensions that broke out in the area last month. “We received complaints that they turned away a lot of residents, who came to them for resolution of problems, citing the political limbo in the Delhi assembly,” the leader said. Their re-nomination this time is unlikely.
According to a member of AAP’s political affairs committee, former law minister Somnath Bharti was re-nominated from the Malviya Nagar constituency, despite his vigilantism, since he received glowing feedback from the people. In January, Bharti had led a midnight raid on a few African nationals, accusing them of trafficking in sex and drugs.
Bimonthly affair
The party has been carrying out the feedback programme ever since it resigned from the Delhi government in February. Every two months, its volunteers visited 2,000-3,000 homes in each constituency, gathering feedback and reporting it to the block in-charge and then district in-charge. An independent observer in each constituency watched the process.
The observers’ assessments and the feedback were studied by AAP’s Delhi election campaign committee and political affairs committee before they decided on the candidates for the next election.
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