MARGAO: The Aam Aadmi Party that drew a naught at the assembly elections is here to stay and its campaign committee will be meeting shortly to chalk out the future plan of action, revealed Goa Convener Elvis Gomes, adding that the party would be involved in the panchayat elections scheduled for May.
While pointing out that the party has garnered a little over six per cent of the total votes cast at the Assembly elections, he however denied that AAP was aiming for 6% votes to be recognized as a national party. “We participated in the Goa elections to win and did not succeed though we made our presence felt all over Goa and very strongly in some constituencies,” he said.
Incidentally, AAP candidate was at the number two slot in Benaulim while in 13 constituencies it was at number 3 positions.
Elvis said the party would carry forward its mission of getting clean and honest people into politics by persuading new and specially women to contest the ensuing panchayat elections.
“AAP created the space for a change and that is why the Goan electorate voted for a change. However, the Congress occupied the space created by us as we were handicapped due to lack of time and also funds,” he said.
While admitting that money played a role at the just concluded elections, he said the Congress and the BJP were back to their tricks of using money power to come to power but acknowledged that there were many people who voted by their conscience which is reflected in the votes AAP secured.
He said the government should last for five years because the mandate given at elections is for that period. However, he opined that the fractured mandate makes ‘king makers’ more important and brings in inherent instability as presently it is a case of disparate forces coming together which can work only for a temporary period.
Clarifying on the volunteers from other states brought in by AAP to canvass in Goa, he said the volunteers had left the very next day after polling. “The volunteers were professionals in their own field including doctors and engineers who had come only to help bring about a change in the political system in the State,” he said.
