The Aam Aadmi Party’s coffers are filling up fast with very un-Aam Aadmi goodies. For AAP, every day is Christmas, with Santa Clauses in the form of generous supporters of all class and creed, Indian and NRI, reaching bearing gifts at the party’s 41 Hanuman Road headquarters—a Lutyens style bungalow in the capital’s Ground Zero. The party is making a daring pitch for the coming Lok Sabha polls. The booty is eye-popping: cars, laptops, mobiles, handycams make up the hardware. Furniture and stationery is for easy comfort.
AAP has also been gifted prime real estate. Add to these, cash, oodles of dosh and the uncommon picture is complete. With transparency as its USP, AAP is seeking cash and kind to help promote its cause and campaign. On January 1, the party launched the ‘Special 2014’ drive to collect donations for the Lok Sabha elections and in just two short months, 3,747 people have pitched in with `77.46 lakh. Some, including NRI Rabinder Sirohi who has a taste for whimsical numerology, are donating `2,014 daily in the poll year.
Its never been a dull day for AAP ever since Arvind Kejriwal stepped down as Delhi CM after a 49-day stint. The party has been busy building up its assets arsenal in unconventional ways. Till last count, it had been “gifted” 85 realty space as office premises to run operations in Delhi. It also collected `10.81 crore in cash. The faithful have been queuing up at the party office where a file is being maintained to keep track of the tokens of appreciation. Business for shopping sites like Flipkart has gone up, with generous AAP fans logging in to buy and send presents.
Houses, buildings, flats, shops and even rooms in Green Park, Shalimar Bagh, Malviya Nagar and Kejriwal’s neighborhood Kaushambi (Ghaziabad) are among the presents given to AAP in a city where real estate comes at a premium. In AAP’s garage are five cars including an SUV; these are over and above the vehicles regularly loaned out to it by supporters. The Kejrimobile—a humble blue Wagon is also a gift. The miscellany of generosity includes pens, writing pads, A4 size paper packs, plastic chairs, keyboards, printers and wireless routers.
At the party office kitchen that caters to over 150 volunteers daily, every ingredient on the menu is donated by supporters. Vegetables are bought by the residents of the locality. Farmers and businessmen send the daal, rice and flour from Haryana.
“With elections round the corner, we are asking people to donate to the party in their respective states based on local needs,” said Pankaj Gupta, AAP’s national secretary.
Former journalist and party candidate from Chandni Chowk Ashutosh even tweeted that he needed a laptop for three months. “Friends, need help. If anyone of you can lend laptop for three months for my election work will be greatly obliged,” was his message.
Malviya Nagar trader Umakant Singhal donated a Santro and a flat in Shalimar Bagh. His reason? “AAP is doing good work for the nation and I want to help them in whatever way I can so that they win in Lok Sabha elections.”