AAP to launch national campaign in Rohtak

The Aam Admi Party (AAP) will launch its national campaign for the Lok Sabha elections at Rohtak in Haryana on Sunday.

The state, which has 10 Lok Sabha constituencies, has emerged as an important battleground for political parties. Rohtak parliamentary constituency is represented by Deepender Hooda in the Lok Sabha. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, along with national executive members, Yogender Yadav and Naveen Jaihind, and party convener for Haryana Ashwant Gupta will address the rally.

According to a senior party member, when the rally was planned, Kejriwal's presence was not reckoned and Yadav was to be the key speaker. After his resignation as the chief minister of Delhi, Kejriwal can devote more time for party activities to mobilise voters.

Since Assembly elections in Haryana are also due in September/October this year, AAP seems to be consolidating its presence by using the state as a launch pad for its national goals.

AAP has initiated a "Jharoo Sandesh Yatra" in all the 10 Assembly constituencies of Haryana that would converge at Rohtak on February 23.

The party has already named its candidate from Gurgaon constituency. The explicit differences of the sitting MP from Gurgaon, Rao Inderjeet Singh seeking a probe into the land deals of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, and his subsequent migration to the Bharatiya Janata Party earlier this month may undermine Congress' prospects of retaining the seat.

For the remaining nine seats, the selection process is on. While in Haryana, regional disparities and illegal land transfers are the part of political rhetorics, AAP would address all national issues at its maiden election rally.