The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to enter the political fray in Madhya Pradesh and contest with its full might in the upcoming assembly polls in the state at the end of this year. Among other factors, one important reason behind the party’s decision has been its state president, Rani Agrawal who created political history of sorts in July 2022 by becoming the first ever Mayor from the AAP in Madhya Pradesh.

She defeated her rivals from the ruling BJP and main opposition Congress in the mayoral polls for Singrauli city last year. AAP national convener Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appointed her the president of the state unit. Belonging to Haryana, Ms Agrawal was a housewife wh married into a Singrauli family involved in social service and running a business. She began her political career in 2012, when she was elected Sarpanch of Bargawan village in the Devsar area of Singrauli, as a BJP-supported candidate.

Then she won the polls for District Panchayat Member (Zila Panchayat Sadasya) in 2015. She joined the Aam Aadmi Party in 2018, and has not looked back. Gaurav Chandra spoke to the 48- year-old on various political issues. Excerpts –

Q: With AAP having decided to enter the political fray in MP for the upcoming assembly polls, what are the preparations and how many seats does the party plan to contest?

A: The AAP will contest all the 230 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh. We are gearing up and preparing ourselves to become the leading political party in MP too, after Delhi and Punjab. We will fight on our own without any coalition with other political parties.

Q: Do you see AAP as being in a position to influence the poll results in a way that it becomes a king-maker in MP or is the party aspiring for something bigger?

A: I can assure you that the people of MP are totally fed up with the BJP and the Congress. However, till now they did not see any other option and were forced to choose between the two. But now they see AAP as a much better and reliable option. Going by the people’s response and love for AAP, we are not looking at the option of merely playing a role in government formation but are confident that we will form our own government.

Q: What are the main issues in MP and what problems have people faced over the years under the BJP and Congress regimes?

A: The Congress and the BJP have been ruling for the past 70-75 years and leaders of both parties only make announcements but do nothing on the ground for the poor, the unemployed youth, the farmers, the women and those in need. These two parties have not done anything for real development of infrastructure like roads, power, water, sanitation, education, health and other facilities. The law and order situation has also remained very poor all these years and corruption and misgovernance have been at their peak under both parties. The people have now understood that the Congress and the BJP are the same. During the current BJP government, people have witnessed many scams like the Vyapam scam, Mahakal scam and others.

Q: So how does the AAP plan to convince people to vote it to power in MP?

A: Our main plank is that we do what we promise. The AAP does politics of work and we deliver all that we guarantee to people. We have set examples of this work ideology in New Delhi and Punjab and people have approved of our works. In Madhya Pradesh too, the AAP will follow the Delhi and Punjab models and our focus will be on the same lines. We will work concertedly for the betterment of health, education, water, power, roads and other infrastructure in MP. We will also ensure to address the issues of unemployment of youth, troubles of farmers, problems being faced by women and girls like safety, health, education and financial security. The AAP is also focused on various local issues concerning the people in MP and we will address all such issues too.

Q: What will be the AAP’s criteria for ticket distribution in MP?

A: Our party conducts surveys for deciding the best possible candidate for any particular election. This criterion is being undertaken in MP too and our survey process is already ongoing here. We might declare the first few names of our candidates for MP by the end of August.

Q: Will there be any reservation for women in ticket distribution?

A: Our party is a strong supporter of women empowerment and I am proof of that. We will definitely reserve a good percentage of seats for women candidates in MP and the central leadership will decide on that.

Q: The leaders of BJP and Congress often say that the AAP has no influence in the rural areas of MP. What is your response to that?

A: What the two parties say does not matter at all. They used to say this for Singrauli too. We formed the government in Punjab, and we also performed well in Gujarat. In Madhya Pradesh too, our organizational structure is ready at the zone and district levels. We are strengthening the party cadre at the booth, block and circle levels, both in the urban and rural areas of MP. We are conducting regular meetings in all rural pockets of the state and we know that the people have made up their minds to teach a lesson to the BJP and Congress in these assembly polls.

Q: You won as Mayor and now you are the MP President of AAP. Will your next step be to contest in the Assembly polls too?

A: The people of Singrauli have showered their blessings on me and have given me the opportunity to serve them. Following that, the party leadership has given me a very big responsibility in the state. Now, if the party puts its faith in me for the assembly polls too, I will contest. It all depends on the party leadership. I will do whatever the party decides.