Lucknow, Jul 4 (IANS): The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) plans to set up its Tiranga shakhas in all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh by October.

The Tiranga shakhas will counter the RSS shakhas and their propaganda.

Party MP Sanjay Singh said, “The party is planning to use the platform of these shakhas for community work, including secular programmes like common celebrations of festivals, but the basic focus of these groups will be to inculcate patriotism in people.”

He said that the Tiranga shakhas will aim to explain to people what genuine patriotism is against the ‘narrow version of the term that BJP espouses’. Those who join these shakhas need not be members of AAP and can be local residents who chose to participate in community work. The shakhas should be in place by October, when the party will hold a maha sammelan of its workers to train them for these shakhas.

“The shakhas will bring together people on a local level for community work. We will hold discussions on important people from India, like freedom fighters or parliamentarians and discuss issues of national or local importance. These shakas will be open to people of all castes and religions and will be styled to challenge BJP's hegemony over nationalism and religion,” Singh said.

He added that there was a need to involve people in a more positive debate on various issues and build a sense of responsibility towards the community.

AAP started these shakhas in 2022 and had them functional in around 47 districts. So far, they are likely to be concentrated in urban areas where the party has an organisational structure.

The party later plans to expand them to the rural level as well.

In the coming few months, the party plans to set up these shakhas at the nagar palika and nagar panchayat levels.

“The work of expanding the party in UP has started. These shakhas have been particularly helpful in image building for AAP and wherever these units were functional last year, we have a better organisation, more local people involved and recognition for the work that the party is doing," said Singh.