Kejri’s appeal gets 45 L in donation, party eyes more
NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal for donation has managed to accrue more than ` 45 lakh in the past three weeks. The party is now looking to plan more fundraising exercises in the coming months to strengthen its financial position.
Kejriwal had appealed to party members, volunteers and sympathisers to donate money in July as party coffers had run dry.
“After we came to power, our funds (were) exhausted. Now we want funds to run our party and we want it from the public,” he had said.
The appeal had got the party around ` 30 lakh within two days.
The AAP stormed to power in elections held in February bagging 67 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly.
According to party insiders, the party had come down to the final few lakhs of rupees when the appeal was made. Considering that the party is preparing for elections in full force in Punjab currently, funds are an absolute necessity. Mission Vistaar - the party’s expansion programme has also been kicked off in Haryana.
“We definitely need money now and the response from the people has been positive after Arvind’s appeal. We are planning a systematic fundraising exercise in the coming days and are confident of a good response,” said a senior party official.
According to Aam Aadmi Party leaders, the donations had gone down after the party won Delhi elections since there was no active demand or efforts for donations.
“Since the party and leaders were not asking for money, the donations had come down. We are confident that he people are still with us,” the party official added.
Donations hit a low after a rift in the party, with four founder members being expelled, with the part receiving less than ` 30,000 in donations in the week before the appeal was made.