AAP not a threat, says BJP's Amit Shah

Amit Shah, the BJP's general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, Thursday said there was no need to fear the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The fact that the Bharatiya Janata Party won 72 percent of the seats in the recently concluded assembly polls in four states was an indication that the party was gaining popularity across the country, Shah told reporters after wrapping up a three-day-visit to the state.

Asked about the findings of a survey by an English daily in which 40 percent voters in metros chose AAP as their party of choice for the Lok Sabha polls, Shah said he saw no challenge as such, but added that the BJP did not take its political opponents lightly.

On the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) warning the BJP not to underestimate the AAP, Shah said he was not aware of any such advisory.

Shah, a close aide of BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, also said his party would contest all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh and would not go for alliances with any regional party.

The BJP would field "clean candidates" who have no graft or criminal charges against them, he said.

Asked about the possibility of Modi contesting from a constituency in Uttar Pradesh, he said the decision has to be taken by the party's parliamentary board and that nothing was final yet.

Shah said feedback on probable candidates was being collected and would soon be considered by the parliamentary board.

The BJP will hold two rallies at Gorakhpur (Jan 23) and Meerut (Feb 2) and another rally later in Lucknow.

The party currently holds 10 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh. At the peak of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the 1990s, the party had won 57 seats.