With the Delhi Assembly elections drawing near, campaigning has turned more combative. The Aam Aadmi Party, which has mounted a challenge to the dominance of mainstream political parties, is expected to release its manifestos early next month.
The party is busy preparing 71 manifestos for the city, one each for the 70 Assembly constituencies and one for the whole of Delhi.
The party leaders realised that there were some issues affecting all Delhiites, like electricity bills and the safety of women, but the demands and requirements of every constituency were different.
So, the party started preparing its manifestos in consultation with the electorate in each constituency. AAP volunteers and candidates have been going door-to-door enquiring about the problems in different areas that need urgent attention.
AAP spokesperson Aswathi Muralidharan said this idea was at the core of the principles of swaraj and participatory democracy.
“Unlike the traditional political parties, which generally put their agenda on the manifesto instead of the people’s needs and requirements, we are preparing 70 separate manifestos. This will ensure people’s participation,” she said.
Each manifesto will highlight the major issues plaguing a particular constituency. For instance, when party leader Arvind Kejriwal held public meetings last week in Sarojini Nagar, a part of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s New Delhi Assembly constituency, several issues came up. The problems of unkempt parks, choked drains and absence of security guards were brought up.
Whenever such proposals or problems come his way, Mr. Kejriwal makes a note of them in a big register that he carries with him. Like Mr. Kejriwal, who is also AAP’s chief ministerial candidate, all the candidates are writing down the suggestions and problems of people in their constituencies.
“If people’s issues find a place in the manifestos, then they would actively participate and thereby become a stakeholder in the process of governance,” Mr. Kejriwal argued.
The party will compile all the concerns and requirements and then begin the process of “fine tuning” the manifesto. The manifesto will be finalised only after the party leaders take the “fine tuned” version back to the residents of the area for discussion.
