Despite the speculation that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has lost its support base in the national Capital significantly, the party claims to have got four times the number of volunteers this year than last year. The sheer volume of party volunteers and delegating work, claims AAP, has sent the party into a tizzy. Thus, the party is now planning different ways of campaigning where they can all come to use.
The party had last year distributed their volunteers among the various Vidhan Sabhas and divided teams of those who would volunteer. However, now since the old volunteers are still there and with a reportedly four-time increase in that number pouring in this year, the party has come up with a new plan for allocation of work which would help the party the most. According to a party member, the volunteers will be divided into two main sections. “One section of volunteers will go to the various Vidhan Sabhas and help out with work there in terms of campaigning and otherwise in conducting surveys. However, most of these people will be old volunteers who have been with the party for at least a year. They will then at least know the functioning of the party well and a lapse in any matter won’t take place,” said a party member.
The second section will be the volunteers who will only campaign all over Delhi. A source said that since the numbers in this category will be more, a special campaigning structure has been formed. He said, “This section will be a mix of old and new volunteers. There will be different ways of campaigning like buzz campaigning, door-to-door campaigning, road shows, rallies, etc. Now for campaigns like door-to-door, people who have been associated with the party for some time will go. That way people will see familiar faces and a form of trust will build. Similarly for buzz campaigns we will use volunteers who are fairly new and can help spread a buzz of the party around. Then there are campaigns where not much activity is involved and where pamphlets are given or posters are held, so that would be divided among both old and new.”
The people allotted for different campaigns and work would also be done so based on the region they come from. According to a senior party worker, “Volunteers will be sent to the various Assemblies based on which region they come from. This will ensure that they connect with people more closely. If they are from a certain kind of a background, which is similar to that of the residents of that area, the impact is better.”