JOIN USAAP gets labourer, cobbler to open office in M'rashtra
In an attempt to be a non-conformist political outfit, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday got a labourer and a cobbler to inaugurate its local office in the power-loom town of Malegaon.
The dusty and ever humming town which is around 270 km from Mumbai, late on Saturday witnessed a huge turnout of workers, with just word of mouth campaign, for the inauguration.
Talking to Deccan Herald from Malegaon, AAP campaign manager Aleem Faizee said: “Of course there were some high profile guests…we do not deny that but the focus was on Abdul Azeez aka Laddan-a labourer working in one of the local power-looms and Patre Shivaji Ratan aka Shiva– who is a cobbler. They were the chief guests and the duo was accompanied by the party’s candidate for the Lok Sabha polls-Ansari Nihal Ahmed”.
Elaborating on the reason behind inviting people from the working class for the inaugural function, Faizee said: “The bane of our present day culture which has enveloped and also encouraged by the media is the VIP or celebrity culture…you hardly find voices of the masses being given any importance. Every headline talks only of celebrity or political personality or some influential VIP…commoners do not have any say…politics revolves around cult figures and thus we decided to give the power of democracy back to the people where it belongs”.
Interestingly, the massive turnout at the AAP function–local media says–has forced the Congress candidate from Dhule-Malegaon seat, Amrish Patel, to rework his campaign strategy; the result was that on Sunday, flustered Congress party workers were reduced to walking behind AAP campaign trail and shouting slogans after the former left the lane. Patel, an MLC, hailing from Shirpur after losing to BJP’s Pratapdada Sonawane in 2009, is trying his luck for the second time. BJP on the other hand has put up Dr Subhash Bhamre this time.
Apart from these three candidates, senior Congress leader Satyajit Gaekwad has also decided to stake a claim as a rebel candidate after being denied a ticket by his parent party.
Since independence Dhule and Malegaon were reserved constituencies; they were clubbed together in 2008 after the delimitation and over 15 lakh voters are spread over the six Assembly constituencies of Dhule (Central), Dhule (Outer), Malegaon (Central), Malegaon (Outer), Sindkheda and Baglaan.