India’s Aam Admi Party — the party of the common man — is widely regarded as a Delhi-centric party, but this may be about to change. In the small state of Goa, AAP also appears to have generated considerable enthusiasm especially in the southern areas. With Kejriwal’s authoritarian leadership style in mind, many Goan voters might be tempted to think that AAP would not be very different in this regard. But through the many Goem Samvad, the party has sought to show that it actually takes Goan voters seriously. If Kejriwal is serious about emerging as the main political challenger to Narendra Modi, it certainly helps to be able to call oneself the leader of a “national party.”Kenneth Bo Nielsen is coordinator of the Norwegian Network for Asian Studies.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 17, 2017 11:48 UTC