Massive response to AAP referendum

December 19, 2013 03:11 am | Updated November 16, 2021 06:10 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

A day after it sought a referendum on forming a government in Delhi with outside support of the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party received over 4.20 lakh responses through various channels. It is yet to analyse the data to ascertain their nature.

“We had sought feedback from the people of Delhi regarding their views on formation of a government. And within 24 hours, we have received over 4.2 lakh responses through different channels, including the Interactive Voice Response system, short-message service, our website and the party’s Facebook page,” an AAP spokesperson told The Hindu .

Maximum through SMS

The maximum number of responses were received through SMSes. “The party has got 25 lakh pamphlets printed to reach out to the people. Our next course of action would be a door-to-door survey. The exercise will commence on Thursday. Public meetings attended by senior leaders will also be organised in all municipal wards. The data collected will be analysed and the results are expected to be out in the public domain next Monday,” the spokesperson added.

The AAP decided to go for the referendum as the deadlock over formation of the government has persisted since the BJP, the single largest party with 31 out of the 70 Assembly seats, refused to take the plunge. The AAP, with 28 seats, which was also invited by the Lieutenant-Governor for a discussion on the issue, has sought time to arrive at a decision.

Describing the Congress as shatir (clever), Mr. Kejriwal said the AAP’s decision to go to the people followed a strong view within the party that they should form the government with Congress support, even if it is for six months, to fulfil its agenda and prove that it could deliver on its promises. It is learnt that some sections of the party also felt that it was trying to escape from its responsibility to govern.

Divergent views

Admitting that there were divergent views, Mr. Kejriwal said the section within the party in favour of forming government felt that the Congress would not withdraw support till the Lok Sabha election.

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