AAP marks Gujarat debut with four wins, Arvind Kejriwal tweets 'national party now
The AAP had carried out a high-decibel campaign to make it a three-way fight for the first time in Gujarat
Heading for a two-thirds majority, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on Thursday poised to retain power in Gujarat for a record seventh straight term but new entrant Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) victory on four seats and lead in one, with a vote-share closing to 13 per cent, meant it is on track to be recognised as a national party by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
While the Congress was not expected to replicate its creditable performance of the last assembly elections in 2017, a good showing by the AAP could have helped its supremo and Kejriwal cement his place as a key challenger to Prime Minister Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The AAP is also in power in Punjab.
The AAP had carried out a high-decibel campaign to make it a three-way fight for the first time in Gujarat where the Congress and the BJP have been traditional rivals.
Emboldened by the victory in the Delhi municipal elections, the AAP had hoped its politics of welfarism will be accepted by the people in Gujarat.
