Jaitley says BJP not worried about rise of AAP, but should they be?

The BJP has largely been dismissive of the Aam Aadmi Party on the national stage despite the party growing in leaps following its electoral success in Delhi but senior leader Arun Jaitley today admitted there was a lot they could learn from the new kid of the political block.

"The first is that credibility matters and it always gives you the moral high ground in politics. The second is that every campaign must have a big idea... And the third is to go back to the Jan Sangh system of collection of funds that will involve more and more people with the party," Jaitley said in an exclusive interview to the Economic Times.

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The BJP leader said the party had no reason to be worried about the potential emergence of the AAP on the national stage just yet, but acknowledged that in urban seats they would have to ensure that the party harvested most of the anti-incumbency votes.

The urban votes are expected to be a key battleground for the AAP and the BJP in the 2014 elections and the 201 seats from urban area are expected to decide the BJP's fortunes in the polls.

But while he may be a fan of the AAP's method of contesting elections, Jaitley is no fan of the party's governance model and believes their free water and power schemes won't work unless they can provide economic growth. He also left no doubt that the BJP's principal focus if it came to power would be the revival of the economy.

While the BJP leader may talk of lessons they have learnt from the AAP, whether they are following them remains in question. The party is bringing back leaders like BS Yeddyurappa in Karnataka in a bid to revive itself in the state, and its big idea for now hinges on a single individual and not an economic policy.

It can be argued that the AAP's Delhi campaign was as dependent on an individual's charisma to take them to victory, but the BJP has far more riding on the 2014 polls than its much smaller competitor did in the national capital. Perhaps Jaitley needn't be worried about the AAP toppling them, but the BJP does stand to lose from others who can implement lessons from the AAP better than it can.

Read the complete interview with Jaitley here