NewDelhi: The current leader of Delhi, Atishi, has kicked off a crowdfunding scheme to seek people’s financial support for her contest in the assembly elections of the state. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the platform beneath which she aims to collect a whopping amount of ₹40 lakh for her election campaign in the constituency of Kalkaji with the party, therefore promising to fundraise from the grassroots and being transparent in politics.
Atishi, in a press meet, announced a new website, atishi.aamaadmiparty.org, to which the people are encouraged to make their donations to her election campaign. She stated that accepting funds from large corporations or industrialists rather than relying on little contributions from the general public has been the basic idea of the party ever since it was founded.
“Delhi people have always supported us. We have collected money directly from people in their houses since we first started the party. For instance, we went door-to-door in 2013, asking people to donate small amounts like ₹10, ₹50, or ₹100. This grassroots funding has enabled us to run honest politics,” she elaborated.
The Chief Minister depicted an obvious contrast between the funding method of AAP and that of other political parties. She maintained that parties that are financed by huge companies will often undertake actions for those businesses. “Our people in Delhi benefit from the funding of our campaigns by the people’s donations; hence, AAP governs for the common folks,” she stated.
Atishi was also critical of the BJP, hinting that they do not need to raise any funds because of their links with the wealthy donors and government contracts. She stated that the AAP’s platform of raising funds via crowdfunding is “a tangible proof of our commitment to integrity.”.
In response to the queries about the BJP’s position on the list of candidates, Atishi speculated that the holdback may be due to the lack of a requisite number of candidates, subtly inferring that the senior leadership of the party might be reluctant to contest the elections.
While Delhi is prepping for the polling of assembly elections to be held on (5) February with the results on (8) February, AAP’s crowdfunding program is an important advancement in the challenging political environment of the city, and it could be the place setting of campaign financing in the Indian political platform.