File picture of Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal.
Within a day of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's emotional appeal for funds, over 500 contributors had donated more than Rs 6.50 lakh to his Aam Aadmi Party.
On Tuesday, according to figures released by AAP, donations crossed the one lakh barrier after nearly two months. "The amount reached Rs 6,75,783 with 537 contributors responding to the appeal by evening," a party functionary said.
AAP's best day in this month so far was July 1, when it got Rs 28,702 in donations. On Saturday, July 11, it had received Rs 709.
On Monday, Mr Kejriwal said, "You would say I am a weird Chief Minister for asking for funds like this. You will say we made him Chief Minister, still he is asking for money. We can get money the wrong way but that is not who we are. Your 10 rupees will help us pursue honest politics."
"Since we came to power, our funds have dried up. Now, we want funds to run our party and we want it from the public. You people funded us, we never had any money to fight polls, we never took any money secretly from big shots... Now, after forming a government, whatever money we had is over. We need money to run the party," he explained.
Last year, AAP had said that Mr Kejriwal's funds appeal on social media had helped the party raise Rs 1 crore in two days. Till November 2014, the party had raised Rs 21 crores, but sources say it has all been spent for the elections in February this year that it won.
The party received a total Rs 4.22 lakh in donations in June; on June 17 it got Rs 100.
AAP, launched on an anti-corruption plank, has sought to differentiate itself from other political parties by raising funds through fund raiser events and online donations. It claims that every paise it receives is accounted for and available for public scrutiny and challenges other parties to do the same.