A new political party in India is consulting voters on whether it should try to form a government in the key state of Delhi, its leaders said Saturday, according to dpa. The anti-establishment Aam Admi (Common Man) Party is using social networking sites, phone messages, an online poll and local meetings in an unique experiment to decide its next move. The party made a spectacular showing in its first election, winning 28 seats in the 70-member state assembly and placing second to the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which took 32 seats. The incumbent Indian National Congress party finished a poor third with eight seats. The Congress party said its legislators would support the Aam Aadmi Party, which was borne out of an anti-corruption campaign aimed largely against the incumbent, if it opted to form a government. After the BJP said it could not muster the numbers required to form a government, Aam Aadmi said it had decided to consult its supporters on whether it should make the bid. "Over the past week we have been going door to door, holding small community-level meetings and bigger ones in parks to explain the situation and seek people's opinion," Shazia Ilmi, a leader of the party, said. It reportedly received more than 1 million mobile phone message responses so far, The Asian Age newspaper reported. A preliminary assessment indicated that most respondents wanted the party to form a government, said Manish Sisodia, a newly party legislator. Sisodia said the responses were being evaluated and a final decision would be taken by Monday.
