NEW DELHI: Karan Sinha, an IT professional, was at Jantar Mantar on August 3 two years ago when it all happened. "Thousands of supporters of the anti-corruption movement woke up to the reality that they were now a political party," said Sinha, 45, who lives in a two-bedroom rented apartment in Delhi's posh neighbourhood of Greater Kailash. "I for one was in favour of the decision."He's talking about the moment when the movement morphed into the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which would go on to make an unexpectedly strong showing in Delhi assembly elections in December last year, form the government and then quit. Life came full circle on August 3 this year when AAP went back to its birthplace to mobilise public opinion over fresh elections in the capital. But Sinha chose to skip the event. "I gave up on them a few months ago. I do not relate to their political rhetoric anymore."AAP's recent rally--a litmus test of its political relevance in Delhi after its drubbing in Lok Sabha elections--was a seen as a success with thousands pouring into Jantar Mantar to endorse the party. But Sinha's absence was representative of a significant shift. The support base that brought AAP to power in Delhi was no longer composed of a coalition in which the middle classes were well represented-it was now heavily weighted toward the bottom of the pyramid.This is increasingly evident to party legislators who recently held hundreds of jan sabhas (public meetings) as they sought to win back the support of those miffed with AAP quitting power earlier this year."The largest chunk of our supporters now come from the underprivileged class. A public meeting held near a JJ (jhuggi-jhompdi) colony inevitably elicits a good response these days. But I am yet to see similar enthusiasm about AAP among the educated middle class and the elite," a party MLA of an urban constituency told ET on condition of anonymity.AAP feels confident therefore about winning rural seats such as Sultanpur, which it lost by about 1,100 votes in the assembly election last year, if a fresh election is held. On the other hand, party MLAs representing urban seats feel nervous."If we have fresh polls soon, we'll definitely weaken the Congress vote share even further as their traditional votebank--slum voters and minorities--are now aligned with our party. But a big chunk of voters in my seat are from the professional class and the rich," said another AAP legislator.The disenchantment of the middle and upper middle classes with AAP isn't a secret. It manifested itself early on when AAP MLA and then minister Somnath Bharti conducted a midnight raid in Khirki extension against an alleged prostitution racket. The spectacle of then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal sitting on a dharna against the central government and the decision to resign did not sit well with these supporters."They couldn't make the transition from agitation to governance. I was quite angry when they took the obstinate stand of not sending the Jan Lokpal Bill to the LG (lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung) first and quit power," said Sinha, who voted for the party in assembly elections last year.During the general election, AAP lost in 14 urban assembly segments that form part of Lok Sabha constituencies, including those represented by party leaders Manish Sisodia (Patparganj) and Kejriwal (New Delhi).The AAP leadership believes the middle class indifference stems from its belief that its aspirations for transformation will be met by Narendra Modi and the BJP. The poor know better, according to this analysis."The middle class believes it has ushered in the change it was striving for by electing Modi. But there has been no difference in corruption levels. No one knows this better than the underprivileged who continue to bribe government officers and the police. The rich and professionals do not have to face such problems on a daily basis," said a senior leader of the party and member of AAP's political advisory committee.Is AAP changing its political rhetoric to mirror this shift in support? AAP's opposition to the ban on e-rickshaws and its support for the agitation by students against English in public service exams could be viewed as an attempt in this direction, although the party leadership vehemently denies resorting to appeasement."Right now AAP is focusing on elections, which is why you see the party echoing sentiments of the poor because that is where most of the problems are and that's where most of the votes are," said political commentator Shiv Vishwanathan. "But AAP needs to decide whether it wants to grow only electorally or also politically. If it wants to be a different political party then it needs a different set of issues and constituencies. If it's only going to fight elections, then it will not be too different from the Congress and BJP."Despite all this, AAP plans to keep pursuing the middle class voter. "There will be a point where they will have to hear us. And we can see this change happening in a few places already," said an AAP leader.About 25 out of the 70 seats in Delhi can be called broadly urban (more than half the voters reside in flats or bungalows), according to an expert. It could mean that AAP will benefit from the growing support of the underprivileged because the chances are the party may lose most urban seats but gain an equal number of new rural seats. This could mean its tally in fresh elections could be more or less the same, which means the party would maintain its credibility as an alternative. But that proposition can only be tested if elections are held-and it's not yet clear if or when this will happen.