GUWAHATI: Assam’s newly-floated Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP) is seeking donations from the public so it can contest the upcoming Assembly elections.
“Unlike BJP or Congress, we do not have money power. The people are our wealth. We appeal to them to extend their love and financial cooperation to us. They can donate anything from Re 1,” AJP chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi said.
The party, which shared the details of a bank account for donations, said the financial transactions would be updated on a website once every week. It urged people to become “jatiya sevaks” (servants of the state), and register their names on the website.
The AJP also provided a toll-free number, so people can register complaints and give suggestions.
“Whether you call us the B-team of BJP or the A-team of Congress, our objective is not power but to serve the people,” Gogoi asserted.
He urged the aspiring candidates to apply for tickets by February 25 with a fee of Rs 20,000.
The AJP was floated in September last year against the backdrop of the agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Five people had lost their lives when the protests in the state turned violent.
The party has forged an alliance with Raijor Dal, which is headed by jailed leader Akhil Gogoi. The two parties are trying to form a united front of regional forces to keep BJP and Congress out of power.
AJP was floated by the All Assam Students’ Union and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad while Raijor Dal was formed by 70 organisations, led by peasants body Krishak Mukti Sangram Samitiee.