Karnataka appears to have emerged as a strong support base for the Aam Aadmi Party, if donations are a yardstick. The State has yielded more funds for AAP’s Lok Sabha campaign than any other State in the country, even beating Delhi, the nucleus of the party’s campaign.
The fundraiser dinner with AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal; donations to individual candidates from the State; and donations to the AAP in Karnataka, together amount to Rs. 5.1 crore, a figure that exceeds funds raised in New Delhi (Rs. 4.01 crore), Prithvi Reddy, AAP’s Karnataka State convener and national executive council member told The Hindu .
The fundraising dinner held last month during Mr. Kejriwal’s visit to the city raised Rs. 55 lakh. People from Karnataka contributed Rs 1.5 crore towards the central party fund over the last three months, according to the party’s website. (Total donations to the central party fund is now around Rs. 22 crore.) In contrast, the party fund in Delhi has received a contribution of Rs. 3.8 crore. Election analyst and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Jain University, Sandeep Shastri, said the socio-economic fabric of urban areas in Karnataka might have contributed to the party’s resonance here. “The profile of urban areas in Karnataka includes a significant population from the corporate world, and young people, who are against mainstream politics and are pro-change. This population in Karnataka appears to have responded to AAP’s call for an alternative politics.”
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