AAP may split Oppn votes in Guj Assembly polls: Political experts

Ahmedabad: Even as the Aam Aadmi Party sees itself the main contender to the ruling BJP in Gujarat, where the Assembly polls are due later this year, some political experts and the Congress feel the AAP will split the opposition votes, benefitting the BJP.

The Congress also claimed that the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP was the "B-team" of the BJP in Gujarat.

Elections to the 182-member in Gujarat, which has been ruled by the BJP for over two decades, are due in December this year. The main opposition Congress has so far not been able to emerge an an alternative to the BJP.

Kejriwal, the AAP's national convener and Delhi Chief Minister, visited Gujarat four times in the last three months, since his party won the Punjab Assembly polls, while the Congress leadership is not really visible as Rahul Gandhi visited Gujarat just once in the last two months.

The AAP's state in-charge, Dr Sandeep Pathak, said, "Wherever we fight elections, we do it scientifically. We have done it in other states and we have carried out a scientific survey in Gujarat too. As per our internal survey, we will win 58 seats as on date."

However, political observer Hari Desai said the AAP will "divide the opposition votes," and this will ultimately benefit the BJP against the Congress.

Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi claimed the AAP was the "B-team" of the BJP. The BJP now knows it cannot win Gujarat as people have come to know its reality. The BJP is promoting AAP in Gujarat so that the opposition votes can be divided and they can win the polls, he claimed.

He also said the people of Gujarat have never approved of a "third alternative," be it the Kisan Mazdoor Lok Paksh (KIMLOP) of Chimanbhai Patel, BJP rebel Shankarsinh Vaghela's Rashtriya Janta Party or Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP).