AAP sets new fundraising record for Canada

TORONTO : While the Aam Aadmi Party’s non-resident Indian volunteers have been termed “outsiders” and attacked by Congress in Punjab, its Canadian unit is also focusing on bolstering support within the diaspora community ahead of the polls.

Party’s Canadian unit continues its outreach through activities including fundraising and phone-banking among the largest Punjabi diaspora in the world.

AAP’s national secretary for Canada Sumesh Handa, also in charge of fund-raising, said they had collected funds worth over three crore rupees in Canada. He said a third of that amount was raised in the last month, adding, “This is much higher than the funds generated in last elections.”

This figure is nearly equal to the total raised in Canada for the 2013 and 2015 Delhi Assembly elections and the 2014 Lok Sabha polls cumulatively.

“We have taken all donor calling data since 2013 and reached out to all those people,” Handa said. Fund-raising has been held not just in large metropolitan areas like Toronto and Vancouver but also in smaller cities and towns like Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba and Hamilton in Ontario.

Handa also said that volunteers who have remained in Canada had made over 36,000 calls to Punjab as part of the campaign.

The Canadian government frowns upon “foreign electoral campaigns” on Canadian territory but, as the department clarified earlier:

“Neither Canadian law nor policy keeps Canadian citizens and permanent residents from joining or financially contributing to legitimate foreign or domestic political parties.” Aware of this loophole, AAP has continued fund-raising in the country while cancelling a proposed visit by Kejriwal to Canada.

As part of the outreach activity, AAP’s Canadian unit has been using an interactive voice calling system with which it has been targeting the diaspora with a prerecorded message from Arvind Kejriwal.

In addition, AAP has also ensured it has an outsised presence on the Punjabi media in the country.