AAP raising funds in UK for Punjab, Goa polls
With the help of a customised van travelling across Britain, the Aam Aadmi Party has so far raised Rs 15 lakh from Indian citizens for the assembly elections in Punjab and Goa.
The British unit of the Aam Aadmi Party has so far collected Rs 15 lakh against a target of raising the equivalent of Rs 50 lakh as part of its “Flame of Hope” campaign across the country for the forthcoming assembly elections in Punjab and Goa.
AAP UK spokesman Sandeep Bisht told Hindustan Times on Thursday that its torch campaign, first launched before the Delhi elections in 2015, had enlisted more support in recent months. The torch campaign will culminate in an event in London on January 22 before leaving for India.
“Our collection target is the pound equivalent of Rs 50 lakh, of which we have raised Rs 15 lakh, strictly from Indian citizens. The ‘Flame of Hope’ torch in the customised van will be taken to Punjab on ‘Jahaaz for Punjab’ (plane to Punjab) on January 24,” Bisht said.
AAP UK will send 250 volunteers on the flight to Punjab for campaigning with local volunteers across constituencies and the torch will be handed over to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on February 1.
Bisht said the list of donors to the party had been removed from the AAP website because many donors reportedly received notices from income tax authorities, but he hoped it will be put online soon by the party’s Delhi office.
The customised van has so far travelled from Leamington Spa and Warwick to East London, Nottingham, Wolverhampton and Birmingham, among other cities. The party’s supporters have organised several events, including among the large Goan community in Swindon.
The UK unit of the party was initially formed by supporters, with no formal links to the India-based party, but Bisht said the unit’s structure had now been formalised as one of the overseas wings of the Aam Aadmi Party.
