700 apply for AAP poll tickets in Bihar

Patna: At least 700 aspirants have applied for the Aam Aadmi Party ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from the state’s 40 parliamentary constituencies.

According to recently formed AAP state campaign committee, over 50% applications have not been filled completely. However, if they are found to be strong candidates at the time of screening, formalities won’t be allowed to come in the way. Patna Sahib constituency tops the chart in terms of numbers with 70-odd aspirants submitting applications to the rookie party.

The state campaign committee members refused to divulge the names, saying it was just a list of names and a detailed analysis was yet to be made. “Our ticket aspirants include at least seven engineers, five doctors and three professors,” one member said.

Thirty-six persons have applied for ticket from Nalanda constituency while 33 each from Munger and Siwan. Over 20 aspirants each are vying for AAP ticket from Ara, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Madhhubani, Muzafarpur, Paschimi Champaran, Patliputra and Sitamarhi constituencies. One round of screening is over, and another round of screening will be done by a central team reaching Bihar on a three-day tour on February 21, state campaign committee member Prabhat Kumar told TOI on Monday and added the first list of candidates for Bihar was expected after that.

AAP executive committee member Ajit Jha, who was in Patna on Sunday, said the party like in several other states would be focusing on local issues, including civic amenities, that concern the ‘aam aadmi’ rather than heavily-loaded ideologies. “Corruption is a national issue and it will be our major poll plank in Bihar too,” Jha said.

Asked about confusion over the party structure in Bihar, Jha said the state-level campaign committee was the supreme body for the state. For the time being, the zonal committees stand dissolved and the formation of constituency-level campaign committee is in pipeline. At least ten cells like women cell, youth cell and legal cell will also be formed.

The party is currently engaged in taking out ‘jhadu-yatra’ in different parts of the state every day as a part of its nationwide campaign that will end on February 25. Some tricks of campaigning through autos and SMSes that worked wonders for the party in Delhi will be replicated in the state.

Jha admitted there was some infighting in the state unit of AAP but added that was manufactured just to monopolize the state leadership. “Even if a party member or two are busy manufacturing dissent, it won’t matter,” he said.

The party volunteers of late have grabbed people-centric issues that drew limelight, including the demolition drive in PMCH and agitation against Bihar School Examination Board. Party’s Bihar and Jharkhand unit in charge Somnath Tripathi said, “We will agitate on every issue of public interest.”

Courtesy: TNN