Indo-Asian News Service, New Delhi, Feb 12: Anuj Bansal’s work at the AAP office here involves answering telephonic queries regarding donations to the party and overseeing collection of cheques from donors across Delhi. Since Tuesday he has also been answering numerous calls from all over the country on when the Aam Aadmi Party will open a unit in their state.
“This has become an added responsibility now,” says a visibly pleased Bansal over tea at the five-month-old AAP headquarters at East Patel Nagar. “Everyone wants to know when they can see an AAP office in their city or state,” the enthusiastic 23-year-old told IANS. “I give everyone a standard reply, ‘We will come if you invite us’.”
The 27-month-old AAP, the country’s youngest political outfit, has no immediate plans of spreading its wings outside Delhi. Its leaders remember the disaster that followed the decision to contest over 400 Lok Sabha seats last year.
But this does not mean the AAP will remain Delhi-centric. At some point, the party, confident that it can occupy the Left-of-centre space increasingly vacated by the Congress, will venture to new states, maybe beginning with Punjab.