Following its spectacular performance in the New Delhi Assembly polls, members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have decided to go on a membership drive in colleges across the State. From this week, the members plan to visit at least 120 colleges across the State to recruit volunteers.
“We will take our message to as many colleges as possible because students have expressed interest in forming committees in their college,” said P. Ganesh, member, AAP.
Additionally, members of the party here plan to launch mobile-based apps to issue alerts to students about the party activities.
On Sunday, AAP managed to recruit over 1,300 volunteers, of which 600 have pledged to dedicate three- fourth of the week for party work. Ninety percent of the volunteers, said Mr. Ganesh, belong to the age-group 22-32 years, and are students and working professionals. “10 per cent of the volunteers are aged about 50. We also have auto drivers and homemakers, who are eager to help us part-time.”
AAP members said representatives from 15 colleges will form a committee and the party plans to have at least one representative in each of the identified colleges.
“They will be elected or nominated by the students. We will also make sure that at least two of the 15 members of every district committee are students,” said Anand Ganesh, State treasurer, AAP. The party plans to have a recruiting session for volunteers on December 28 in Vellore and following that, one in Nagercoil and two more in Chennai.
The meeting in Chennai was advertised only on Facebook, but still, 1,500 people turned up, he added.
A research student and IAS aspirant S. James Arockiasingh, who along with 15 of his friends registered with AAP, on Sunday, said, “Four of us want to be members and hence, we have decided to dedicate full time to working for the party. The rest have promised to work for at least three days a week.”
