 "Delhi women to get Rs 1,000 monthly 'revdi': Kejriwal ahead of elections")
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced that women in Delhi will receive a ‘revdi’ of Rs 1,000 per month as the party launched its ‘Revdi par charcha’ election campaign.
The campaign launch followed a day after the AAP released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi, which took many by surprise as the Election Commission is yet to announce the poll schedule. The term of the current Delhi Assembly ends in the last week of February.
As part of the ‘revdi’ campaign, AAP plans to deploy booth-level office bearers for voter outreach to promote the free facilities that are provided by its government. Two of the most popular facilities include free bus rides for women and free 200 units of electricity per month. The number of people with zero electricity bills stands at 1.7 million in the national capital. About 5.9 million consumers pay about Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 monthly bill.
Roots of AAP’s ‘revdi’ campaign
The AAP’s reference to ‘revdi’ is an apparent jab on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has frequently accused Kejriwal of providing ‘free ki revdi’ (treats) to woo voters. The party plans to organise 65,000 such meetings to discuss the facilities provided by Kejriwal to cement its influence ahead of the polls.
A day ago, AAP named 11 candidates for the polls, which included six turncoats – three from the BJP and as many from the Congress.
The party, which has been in power for the last 10 years, is seeking a third term with Kejriwal as the CM. Notably, the AAP chief had resigned from the CM’s post in September after he was released by the Supreme Court on a bail in the Delhi excise policy case. He has vowed to return to the CM’s chair only after being elected by the people, which he described as a certificate of his honesty. At present, AAP leader Atishi heads the government in Delhi.