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The debutante Aam Aadmi Party is trying various models from the West to spread its wings across the country.
It has planned a fundraising dinner with chief Arvind Kejriwal, inviting professionals from various spectra — information technology heads, lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc — in Bangalore on Saturday. Invitations have gone to those who can contribute at least Rs 20,000 to the party through cheques.
This “experimental event”, as the party calls it, is being organised by a 300-member group called Wellwishers for AAP and will spread out to other cities in the coming months. “This is a by-invite event, where we are trying to reach out to around 500 professionals who can give us at least Rs 20,000 and extend their support. V Balakrishnan, former chief financial officer of Infosys and a party member, is helping in reaching professionals within his network.
Reddy notes there is no culture for political donations in the country and the party is trying to set a trend. This concept is far more common in the West, especially in America; it was adopted by Barack Obama during his debut run for the presidency. Online donation, which the AAP utilised heavily, was another key strategy of the Obama think tank to reach out for funds.
AAP’s social media campaigns, creating a network of volunteers, and use of technology is also similar to the ways Obama strategised his campaigns in the 2008 and 2012 US elections.
In the past, the party says it has taken a cue from established institutions in the US, Switzerland and Brazil to form a “participatory set-up” during its campaigns.
One such tool is the referendum — taking opinions from citizens. Even the party’s name was decided through this mechanism. After the results of the Delhi assembly elections were declared, AAP sought a people’s mandate on whether they should form the government with the outside support of the rival Congress party or not.
This, they said, was adopted from the budgetary allocation system established in Porto Alegre in Brazil, where decisions are taken by discussion through general body meetings.
“We are trying out new concepts which are already setup in various countries across the world. We believe in participatory democracy and we don’t hesitating in adopting ideas which we feel can take us in that direction,” said Dilip Pandey, secretary of party’s Delhi unit.
