The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is set to launch another door-to-door campaign next week. This time, volunteers will visit around 3.5 million households in the city with a copy of the party’s new manifesto likely to be launched by the end of this week, senior AAP functionaries said.
In the previous phase of the ongoing campaign, launched soon after the AAP joined hands with poll campaign strategist Prashant Kishor’s agency I-PAC, the party had organised a similar door-to-door exercise. Volunteers had distributed the party’s “report card” – a document highlighting the government’s achievements in 10 sectors ranging from education and health care to welfare benefits and women security in last five years.
“In the new programme, the focus will be on positive campaigning. Our volunteers will only talk about development issues and the Delhi government’s achievements. They will discuss the new manifesto thoroughly,” said AAP’s Rajya Sabha member and campaign head Sanjay Singh.
The new manifesto is likely to be concise, unlike the 70-point document in 2015, said a senior party leader, adding, “Things shortlisted for the new manifesto include tackling air pollution better, cleaning the Yamuna, making Delhi roads congestion free and expanding the current scheme of free rides in public buses for women to cover other demographic groups such as students and elderly persons.”
The previous phase of the party’s ongoing campaign – which included seven town halls by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, 700 mohalla sabhas – ended on January 10. It launched a campaign song and video on January 11 (Saturday). The next phase, senior AAP functionaries said, would start after the first list of candidates is announced and the manifesto is launched most likely in the coming few days.
While one set of top functionaries are preparing the first list of candidates, which is likely to be announced this week – before the manifesto is launched – another is busy drafting plans for public gatherings and road shows, of which some will be led by Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, said a senior AAP leader.
He said, these public gatherings and road shows will also be part of the next phase of campaign. Kejriwal led seven road shows for the Lok Sabha polls last year. The party did not manage to win any of the seven LS seats in Delhi — the BJP won all of them.
For the upcoming assembly polls in Delhi, the AAP had launched its campaign in September last year. The first few phases of campaign witnessed popular tag lines such as “I Love Kejriwal”, and question-and-answer sessions by leaders across Delhi.
The AAP’s Delhi convener Gopal Rai said, “The party volunteers, once again, are playing a major role in the campaign.”
Senior leaders in the party claimed that as many as 150,000 volunteers are currently playing active role in the campaign. By next week, teams of 10 volunteers will be deployed for each of Delhi’s 13,750 poll booths.
Volunteers have played an active role in the AAP’s campaign in 2015 elections and the initial phases of the ongoing campaign as well. For instance, in the “I Love Kejriwal” campaign, the role of volunteers ranged from duty in CNG stations — where the probability of engaging with auto-rickshaw drivers would be high — to roping in painters, printing stickers and finally getting the campaign text either painted or pasted in around 15,000 auto-rickshaw hoods.
“In the booth level, however, the volunteers are the one ensuring that the new avatar of the party reaches maximum voters,” said a senior AAP leader.
