AAP falls short of fund collection target

With around Rs 18 cr in its kitty, AAP has fallen short of its target of collecting Rs 30 cr before the elections

Aam Aadmi Party might be frontrunner in the race to take over the reins in Delhi but it has fallen way short of achieving its target of collecting Rs 30 crore before the February 7 polling.

With around Rs 18 crore in its kitty, AAP has fallen short of its target of collecting Rs 30 crore before the elections, despite employing a number of innovative initiatives like fundraiser dinners, 'Coffee with Kejriwal', and 'Selfie with Mufflerman'.

However, the party has taken it in a positive stride and refused to pin the blame on its donors.

"Our target was raising over Rs 30 crore by the polling day and we haven't been able to cross that, but it's also true that whatever we have done is in just two months," said AAP's fund collection in-charge Arvind Jha.

In the 2013 elections, the party had to ask people to stop giving money as donations saw a rise.

Elaborating further, Jha said, "One must not forget that we started in late November which is much shorter a span of time than we had with us in 2013."

He said data showed that the party had more small token donors, a symbol of its "increasing base" both inside and outside India.

"It's a reaffirmation of the fact that we accept all kind of donations and in the most transparent way possible," Jha told PTI.

The AAP had been using improved ways of fund collection, one of which is an 'App' called "Aap Ka Daan" created by Prasenjit Pati, a Bhubaneswar-based volunteer who was a junior of party convener Arvind Kejriwal at IIT-Kharagpur.

"The app was created in order to reduce the hassles in the donation process as there were a number of small token donors who could not contribute to the party online," said Pati.

Asked whether there was any kind of "pressure" from the party leadership to gather more funds, Jha said, "The pressure is not from the top but from within the fund collection team."

The party's fund collection will continue till a decision is arrived at by the central leadership of the party, he said.