It's not just Punjab. Next year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also looks set to fight state elections in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and even Uttar Pradesh.

Officially, the party talks only about Punjab and says its top panel will decide on other states in due course, but preparations to be battle-ready are in full swing.

After sweeping Delhi 11 months ago, its showing in these states would indicate whether the party, born out of an anti-corruption movement in 2012, has what it takes to spread.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal during an earlier election campaign in Punjab

Senior party leader Sanjay Singh told Mail Today that right now the entire focus was on Punjab.

“As for other states, our political affairs committee (PAC) will assess the party’s organisational strength and political situation, and take decisions at an appropriate time,” he said.

Senior leader Kumar Vishwas has started ‘laying the ground’ for AAP in Uttarakhand, where it is likely to contest all 70 seats. He is already talking of AAP’s victory.

“Delhi saw a big political change; Uttarakhand can also prepare itself for such a change,” Vishwas told party workers during his recent visit to the hill state.

Again leaving the call to contest to the PAC, Singh said: “We’re working hard in Uttarakhand with state in-charge Vivek Yadav. Vishwas’ visits have enthused party workers.”

Like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh is also a two-party state, something that may get AAP a head-start. A 38-member team of AAP poll observers went to Himachal in August last year and submitted its report to the party leadership, saying the situation in the state is ripe for a third force.

In the November 2012 polls in Himachal, the Congress won an absolute majority with 36 of the 68 seats while the BJP got only 26.

Singh says AAP has a strong presence in each district of Uttar Pradesh.

“The UP option is definitely open. It’s our responsibility to defeat the politics of hate in our vicinity. If we fight the elections in UP, we would do so based on people’s issues - like AAP did in Delhi - and not on caste and religion,” he said.

Slogans like “Dilli mein dikhaya dum; ab UP mein aa gaye hum” can be heard in some corners, but the state could be quite a challenge that has three players - the SP, which in March 2012 won 224 seats in the 403-member UP Assembly, the BJP, and a resurgent BSP.

Elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, states which traditionally see two-party fights, will take place in 2018. This suits AAP’s method of presenting itself as a credible third alternative, and also exploring linkages with non-BJP, non-Congress groupings.

Party insiders say that taken together these states may help AAP expand its national footprint, and see if its chief Arvind Kejriwal could be a force to reckon with during the 2019 general elections.

AAP is also active elsewhere. Its Delhi MLA Sanjeev Jha is looking after Bihar and Jharkhand. The party recently held several rallies. Singh himself went to Ranchi.

“We have started fresh organisation building in Maharashtra under our national secretary Pankaj Gupta,” he said.

Gupta is also looking after Karnataka and Goa. Habung Payeng has responsibility for Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

AAP MLA Gulab Singh has taken responsibility for Gujarat. Alok Agarwal is MP state convener, while Delhi MLA Som Dutt is the state in-charge. Kejriwal will hold his first rally in the state on January 14. There will be many more rallies in the coming days.

“Once we’re six months away from the elections, he would spend more and more time there,” Singh said.

AAP sees itself in a direct fight with the ruling SAD-BJP combine, trying to capitalise on anti-incumbency. The party does not see a challenger in the Congress, which it says is a divided house. But rebellion has also hit AAP in Punjab with three of its MPs speaking against the leadership.

“Our support has in fact grown. People voted for the party, and not for individuals,” Singh said.

Barring Punjab, where AAP won four seats, the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was a disaster for the party which had most of its 400-odd candidates losing deposits.

AAP has been presenting itself as a national alternative to the Congress, eyeing its support base of the poor and Muslims.