Campaign on auto mode

The Aam Aadmi Party has embarked on an aggressive election campaign in Delhi by using the auto-rickshaw as a medium to reach the masses

As Delhi gets set for elections, political parties are embarking on cleverly- planned campaigns to woo the voters. Of these, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is leaving no stone unturned to make its Sheila hatao campaign a success. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, often referred to as naive by seasoned politicians, is hoping to capitalise on public discontent over issues such as rampant corruption, high electricity tariff and inflation to prevent 74-year-old Sheila Dikshit from winning a record fourth term in power. He has already announced that he will contest election from the same constituency as Dikshit.

AAPs campaign is considered aggressive by many, with its posters plastered on the citys auto-rickshaws. With the auto-rickshaw being a popular mode of transport for the aam aadmi, the party has ensured that its message reaches the masses. We dont just place the posters, but also talk to the passengers about the corruption in the Congress regime. We try to convince them that AAP is the best available option, says one such auto rickshaw driver whose vehicle sports a poster stating Sheila hatao, Kejriwal lao, Dilli bachao (Dethrone Sheila, bring in Kejriwal, save Delhi). He further reveals that these posters were provided by their unions which support AAP.

While ordinarily, owners or drivers charge between Rs 150 and Rs 200 per month as rental for carrying such posters, they have made an exception in the case of AAP by not charging anything. "We had put up posters on 35,000 to 40,000 auto-rickshaws in the capital. However, we cant state the current number of vehicles bearing these posters, as some of them might have got washed away in the rain or might have been torn by children." says Rakesh Agarwal, secretary, Nyayabhoomi a non-governmental organisation working for the cause of auto-rickshaw drivers.

The effectiveness of the campaign can be gauged by the figures provided by www.autorickshawads.com, an agency for auto-rickshaw advertising: an auto-rickshaw covers around 150 km a day and an advertisement displayed on it has an average daily viewership of 5,000. Kejriwals association with auto rickshaws dates back to November 2012, when he interacted with drivers at Ambedkar Bhawan in Aram Bagh and listened to their problems. He even stood by the drivers and added his voice to the protests against Delhi governments ban on displaying posters on the vehicles. Also, in March this year, Kejriwal was seen addressing their rally at Ramlila Maidan.

AAP leader and psephologist Yogendra Yadav informs that poet Kumar Vishwas conceptualises and pens the slogans for these posters. We have prabharis in every lane who put up our posters on the walls of their homes. Other parties put up hoardings at strategic locations, but we put up posters in the lanes and houses of our volunteers, he says.

However, some of their posters carrying the slogan Kise chunenge aap? Beimaan ya imaandar? (Who will you choose? One who is corrupt or one who is honest?) along with pictures of Dikshit and Kejriwal have not gone down well with the Delhi government. Pawan Khera, political secretary to the chief minister, called it an uncivilised campaign. In an open letter to Kejriwal, he said: I write to bring to your attention a rather uncouth campaign on auto-rickshaws hitherto not seen in this city known for a dignified political culture.

The drivers of vehicles carrying these posters were challaned. The government even imposed a ban on advertisements on auto-rickshaws, which was later stayed by the Delhi High Court. As of now, these posters are no longer widely visible on auto-rickshaws. On being asked why posters had been removed, Kejriwal says, We have entered a new phase in our election campaign. Our priorities have changed and we have now come up with posters depicting our election symbol. With the broom being its symbol, the ab chalegi jhaadu posters can now be seen on the auto-rickshaws. Meanwhile, taking a leaf out of AAPs book, the Bharatiya Janata Party also had drawn up plans of using the auto-rickshaw for its election campaign. But its plan does not seem to have materialised as auto-rickshaws with BJP posters are hard to find on the roads. AAP sources claim that the auto-rickshaw unions refused to carry BJP posters, even though they were offered money. It now remains to be seen whether Kejriwals party sweeps the Delhi elections or itself gets swept away.