NEW DELHI: Keen to hit the ground running, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday announced the formation of a three-member manifesto committee for the Assembly polls.The move came a day after the Election Commission (EC) put out the schedule for the elections.While senior AAP leader and party spokesperson Atishi will be heading the panel, the other members are Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) Vice chairman Jasmine Shah and another spokesman Ajoy Kumar, who recently joined the party from the Congress, Gopal Rai, a senior member of the Delhi cabinet, said on Tuesday.
He also said that the manifesto would be put together on the basis of feedback coming out of townhall meetings held by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the last few days.In a novel campaign strategy, the AAP has been holding informal meetings with people of seven Lok Sabha constituencies in the recent weeks. The townhall events not only gave the CM an opportunity to present his government’s report card to the people but also to members in the audience to pose questions to Kejriwal on his plans for the city.
While its main rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), launched the ‘Mera Dilli, Meri Sujhav’ campaign, seeking people’s suggestions on what to include in its manifesto, the AAP has been sourcing its feedback from the ‘AK app’, as well as public meetings being held by senior leaders.
The AAP may unveil its manifesto anytime between January 15 and 20. According to AAP members involved in the process of drawing up the party’s campaign strategy, pollution could figure prominently in the AAP’s to-do list, if voted back. Rai said, “Once our campaign for the Assembly elections is over, the focus will shift to putting together our manifesto. We have reached many goals over the last 5 years, but we have to kick-start a fresh wave of development in the next five.”
Feedback from meets
Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai also said that the manifesto would be put together on the basis of feedback coming out of townhall meetings held by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the last few days. The party has also been sourcing its feedback from the ‘AK app’ and public meetings of leaders