Kejriwal hires ‘start-up’ to rate his MLAs to decide if they can contest Delhi polls again

The external survey, which comes after AAP drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, will look at acceptability, knowledge, reputation of MLAs in their constituencies.

AAP releases its manifesto | Photo: Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has turned to an external agency to carry out a survey and assess the performance of its MLAs ahead of the assembly polls scheduled for early next year. The agency has begun the research to prepare the report cards for the MLAs, sources told ThePrint.

The survey will look at the acceptability, knowledge and reputation of the MLAs in their respective constituencies besides identifying certain constituency-wise issues or concerns.

A senior official of the party told ThePrint that a young start-up has been given the task this year unlike in the past when surveys involved senior members of the party, technical experts, including a professor of IIT-Delhi, and party volunteers. He refused to name the agency.

Highly placed sources in the party also told ThePrint that one round of assessment of the MLAs has already been completed.

The exercise comes on the back of the drubbing that AAP suffered in Delhi in the Lok Sabha elections where it lost all seven seats. AAP finished third in 48 of the 70 assembly constituencies, including in that of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (New Delhi), Gopal Rai (Babarpur) and Kailash Gahlot (Najafgarh).

Survey may decide tickets

Apart from assessing if MLAs have performed well, sources said the exercise will also help in providing feedback to MLAs facing difficulties. Sources said that MLAs who have not performed well may not get a ticket in the assembly elections but added that the final decision will be taken by the party top brass.

ThePrint has learnt that there have been a couple of informal meetings in which some of the senior members and office bearers of the party have conveyed their preferences to the chief minister about the members who deserve to be dropped. But nothing has been finalised yet.

Not the first survey

The AAP, however, isn’t the first party to conduct such surveys. The Delhi BJP has also started the practice of conducting multiple surveys to decide on ticket allocation for the assembly polls. Party’s Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari recently said that winnability would be the “sole criterion” for the tickets.

Meanwhile, amid rumours that the Delhi assembly elections were going to be held in October along with other states, the Election Commission has denied any such plans.

The term of the Delhi Assembly ends on 22 February 2020.