While singing, dancing and sloganeering, Aam Aadmi Party volunteers thronged the lanes of Connaught Place on Sunday evening with huge hoardings of party convener Arvind Kejriwal to campaign for the party.
With four days of campaigning left, AAP volunteers are coming up with new and innovative ways of campaigning. With Gul Panag joining the groups of volunteers who were campaigning, the atmosphere of the place was vibrant.
The volunteers were staging flash mobs at every block in intervals while handing out newsletters and merchandise. AAP supporters from all over the country had come together for the campaign. Dr Mala Sibal, a gynaecologist from Bangalore, campaigning with the volunteers said, “Being a gynaecologist, I have seen people die just because Government hospitals don’t have sufficient equipment. There is a lot that needs to change in terms of governance and I believe that only AAP can bring about a change. I have been a supporter of this campaign for a while now and will always support AAP.”
While the volunteers were geared up, the passersby were quite enthusiastic as well. However, a lot of people had reserved opinions about the current political situation in the country. Vishali Soni who lives in Pitampura was out shopping with her mother. She said, “There is a different air to the kind of campaigning AAP does. They are very interactive and while I didn’t expect them to be here in the market, I’m glad they are because for once a party is directly communicating with us.”
Meanwhile, volunteers of the student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) were seen disrupting crowds by throwing pamphlets and flyers on the road. While AAP had permission for their campaigning, the ABVP volunteers were there by “chance”. A student from ABVP said, “We are here to support Nupur Sharma because she was associated with ABVP.”
While these students were throwing pamphlets and creating a raucous, the AAP volunteers actually used their intervention to their benefit. After ABVP students dirtied the footpaths and roads with flyers, the AAP volunteers went and cleaned the roads in apparent mockery of the Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan.