After mobilising its traditional vote base of e-rickshaw drivers, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is pulling out all stops to woo the middle class in the national Capital. With re-elections in Delhi seeming imminent, the fledgling party has devised a new formula of empowering Delhiites.
Addressing around 200 RWAs on Saturday, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal announced introducing the CitizenlAD fund, which shall be on similar lines of the MlAlAD fund. It is interesting to note that the party is yet again raking up its swaraj principle after it received scathing criticism from all quarters for quitting the Delhi Government on February 14 this year. This time, however, the party seems to have changed its stand wherein, instead of making the MlAlAD fund redundant, it claims that both the MlAlAD and CitizenlAD funds shall co-exist.
As the AAP is already reeling under an identity crisis with Prime Minister Narendra Modi wielding the broom — the election symbol of AAP — the party is now gradually and silently pitching up its shrinking support base in the national Capital. After its war with the Delhi BJP over staking claim on the much-talked about cleanliness drive, the Kejriwal-led AAP is now returning to basics. Reaching out to the middle class, Kejriwal is now talking of empowering the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) through its motto of swaraj (self-rule). Under this, the former Delhi Chief Minister promised the RWAs of allotting funds to them for decentralisation of power.
Explaining the concept of CitizenlAD fund, a senior party member said, “There is a CouncillorlAD fund,MlAlAD fund and MPlAD fund. AAP wishes to empower the people of Delhi by creating a CitizenlAD fund, which shall be used through RWAs. Genuine RWAs shall be officially recognised by the Government. RWAs shall be empowered with funds and powers. An amount, at least equal to MlAlAD fund per constituency, would be set aside for this purpose and would be called CitizenlAD fund. This would be allocated amongst all RWAs falling within that constituency on the basis of certain criteria like the number of households under that RWA and so on.” This amount shall be transferred to the respective RWA wherein the GBM would decide the priority list of works to be done from that fund. Payment would be made to the contractor only when GBM expresses satisfaction in next meeting, added a member.