AAP turns focus on Delhi civic polls; booth-level meetings from Thursday

Awaiting the election results in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa following hectic campaigning, the AAP has turned its focus to its home turf challenging the BJP in the upcoming civic body polls in Delhi.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Delhi Environment Minister and AAP leader Gopal Rai said preparations for the municipal polls is in full swing and 20 lakh people of Delhi have taken membership of the party.

The Aam Aadmi Party will start holding booth-level meetings with party members, workers and leaders Thursday onwards to prepare its strategy for the municipal election, he said.

The State Election Commission on Tuesday notified that elections for the three municipal corporations in Delhi will be held in April and the publication of the lists of polling stations will begin from Wednesday.

"Upset with the BJP rule in municipal corporations, people have been waiting to see a change for the past 15 years. It's nearing slowly.

"For this change, we had started a drive on December 5 during which about 20 lakh people took membership of the AAP," said Rai, the convenor of the party's Delhi unit.

The party will now start booth-level meetings at 13,000 booths across Delhi from Thursday to March 10, he said.

Meanwhile, the party will also set up booth committees with at least 20 "active members" in each of them, he added.

Rai said the AAP will take out a 'Badlav Yatra' (March for Change) across Delhi on March 12 and March 13 and blow the bugle for the civic polls.

"All preparations for the civic polls has begun at booth levels. With the response we are getting from the people, we are hopeful of achieving our target. People are fed up with the corrupt BJP regime," he added.

AAP leader Durgesh Pathak exuded confidence about the AAP's victory in civic polls and said the people of Delhi will ensure deposits of the saffron party's candidates are forfeited this time.