AAP May Contest 300 Lok Sabha Seats

NEW DELHI – Under increasingpressure from its volunteersacross the country following itsimpressive electoral performancein the Capital, the AAPleadership on Monday admittedits initial plan of contestingaround 100 Lok Sabha seatsmay have to be increased threefold.Aam Aadmi Party leaders saytwo major developments sincelast three weeks, its stunningdebut with 28 seats in the capitalfollowed by the governmentformation, appear to havealtered the political landscapeconsiderably.With less than four months leftfor the Lok Sabha elections, theAAP is likely to release its firstlist of candidates within 15-20days and the party has decidedto do away with the process ofmaking public the names ofprobable candidates on eachseats given the lack of time.AAP convenor and the Delhichief minister Arvind Kejriwalhad pinned hopes on the outcomeof elections in the capitalsince the party was formed lastyear, and his colleagues pointout that the strategy seems tohave worked.Senior party leader SanjaySingh, who has been given thecharge of finalising the party’splan for the Lok Sabha pollsalong with key strategistYogendra Yadav, said the publicmood cannot be ignored andsentiments of volunteers will betaken into account.”Our initial assessment was tocontest around 100 Lok Sabhaseats, but given the surge infavour of the party followingthe Delhi assembly results andthe enthusiastic response we aregetting from many parts of thecountry, we will certainly haveto revise our plans,” Singh toldHT.