GUWAHATI: The top leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is facing a dilemma while taking a call on fielding candidates in the northeast this Lok Sabha election.A member of the national council of the party, Gurpreet Singh Uppal, told TOI on Wednesday the state units of the party in Assam and Meghalaya have sent proposals to the political affairs committee (PAC) of AAP, seeking its approval to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Barpeta and Dhubri seats in Assam and from Shillong Lok Sabha constituency in Meghalaya, but the party top bass is yet to give its nod."As per the new rules laid down by the party, we will contest elections from a Lok Sabha seat if we have booth-level committees in at least 70% of the total polling booths in the constituency. In north-eastern states like Assam, the party has faced jolts in recent years after many senior leaders of the party quit without consolidating the organizational base. Under such circumstances, it may not be feasible to meet the 70% rule, but considering the spirit of grass-root workers, the state committees want to field candidates from three constituencies in northeast," said Uppal.He added, "Winning or losing is a different issue. But it is essential to project candidates in elections to energize party workers."Besides contesting eight Lok Sabha seats in Assam, AAP fielded candidates from one constituency each in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya in the last general elections held in 2014.While the party contested six assembly constituencies in Meghalaya last year, in Nagaland assembly polls, also held in the same year, AAP fielded candidates in three seats.A significant number of AAP workers, led by former Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Kamal Medhi, recently joined the Congress."The penchant for offering sops has ruined politics in Assam, it's really difficult now to convince voters by promising to deliver good healthcare facilities and better education," said Uppal, who hopes the party will relax its norms to make inroads in the northeast.

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