AAP says it will do better than Gujarat in Karnataka assembly elections
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is scouting for good candidates who can win on their own reputation, and would focus on about 60 constituencies in the Assembly elections in Karnataka just a few months away.
AAP is upbeat after wresting control of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) from the BJP and the noticeable show in the Gujarat Assembly election, say party leaders in Karnataka.
The party's state unit Vice-President Bhaskar Rao told PTI here on Friday that the five AAP candidates who emerged victorious in the Gujarat poll were not backed by "money and muscle power", and they won on their own reputation. "We would like to pursue that line here (in Karnataka)", he said.
While the party would field "new and good candidates" in all the 224 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, where the polls are due by May, it would focus on 50 to 60 "winnable" segments.
"We are very optimistic that in Karnataka, we will make a better mark than what we have done in Gujarat", Rao said, adding that campaigning by AAP National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for Karnataka Assembly polls would definitely boost the party's "winnability, acceptability and chances".
Karnataka needs a "thoroughly new model", he said. Congress, BJP and coalition models have been "rejected", according to him.
"We will concentrate on people (candidates) with good reputation", added Rao, a former Bengaluru Police Commissioner.
On the contention in some quarters that the AAP had eaten into Congress votes in the recent Assembly elections in Gujarat, he said nobody stopped M Mallikarjun Kharge-led party from consolidating their votes.
He also said, "We are buoyed that Modi magic has not worked in Himachal Pradesh. So, it cannot work here (Karnataka) also".
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Make polling hours 6am-7pm for May 7 LS polls, Karnataka BJP urges EC citing heatwave
Bengaluru, May 3: Citing the ongoing heatwave in the state, Karnataka BJP on Friday petitioned the Election Commission with a request to modify the polling hours to the 6am-7pm period in the 14 parliamentary constituencies in the state that goes to polls on May 7.
Polling is currently scheduled to be held in the second phase in the state in 14 segments in the northern districts between 7am to 6pm on May 7.
"It has become hard to come out and vote between hours 10.00 to 17.00 due to uncontrollable heat. The average heat in those parts (north Karnataka) covering 14 parliamentary constituencies are between 37 and 42 degree (Celsius). The mercury is rising at an alarming level and it would become hard for the electors to come out and vote," BJP's petition said.
The petition highlighted the alarming rise in temperatures, which are expected to go beyond 40 degree Celsius, and also stated that the number of voters over the age of 40 is high and that they are vulnerable to the heatwave.
"To keep up the good spirit of voting, necessary action should be taken," the BJP petition urged the Election Commission, saying, "In this background, it is requested to modify the time of voting in the 14 parliamentary constituencies from 06.00 to 19.00 hours on May 7".
Polling was held between 7 am and 6 pm during Karnataka's first phase of the Lok Sabha polls in 14 constituencies on April 26.
