AAP eyes Himachal, to test political waters in upcoming municipal polls

As the AAP won in Punjab, a victory procession was taken out in Shimla. On Saturday, the Aam Aadmi Party conducted a roadshow in which Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain was also present. Jain also announced to contest Shimla Municipal Corporation elections from the upcoming assembly elections and said that soon Convener of Aam Aadmi Party and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will come to Shimla and announce the party's foray into the neighbouring state..

Shimla: After dislodging the formidable political heavyweights Punjab assembly elections, the Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party is now eyeing neighbouring Himachal Pradesh where state elections are scheduled at the end of this year.

The AAP won 92 seats out of 117 in Punjab defeating bigwigs, including Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, Amarinder Singh, Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Badal and state Congress chief Navjot Sidhu.

As the AAP won in Punjab, a victory procession was taken out in Shimla. On Saturday, the Aam Aadmi Party conducted a roadshow in which Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain was also present. Jain also announced to contest Shimla Municipal Corporation elections from the upcoming assembly elections and said that soon Convener of Aam Aadmi Party and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will come to Shimla and announce the party's foray into the neighbouring state.

Through the municipal elections, the AAP wants to test the political waters in the state where no party other than the BJP or the Congress has been successful. The AAP's electoral foray into Himachal is also seen as a part of the party convener Arvind Kejriwal's jump to national politics. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, AAP won MP seats and at present, AAP also has two Rajya Sabha MPs with the party's victory in Punjab. In Himachal, however, the party faces the challenge of lacking a formidable party face to take on the Congress and BJP bigwigs there.

It is also being said that the AAP's victory in Punjab, which is being attributed to caste equations and the infighting in Congress, which the party exploited to its advantage, may be difficult for the party to repeat the same magic in Himachal. The relatively lesser time of 7 to 8 months left for the assembly elections in Himachal may also be a challenge for the party even though it said it will contest all the 68 seats. Pinnacle in Punjab, zero in Uttarakhand: After the victory in Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party's spirits are high in Himachal, but the numbers were not encouraging for the party in other states with the AAP not able to open its account in Uttarakhand.

With the key to power remaining with the BJP and the Congress in Himachal, it will be interesting to see whether the state trusts AAP to try the third option it's a million-dollar question.