New Delhi:
Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has claimed to have received donations ranging from as little as Rs 10 to lakhs from rickshaw pullers, traders and NRIs to help it fight the Delhi assembly polls and bring a "corruption-free" administration.
It said it has so far received over Rs 12 crore in donation from a cross-section of people and most of them are the first time donors to a political party.
The AAP, which aims to collect Rs 20 crore for the upcoming elections, has received over Rs 6.20 crore from donors in India while the rest has come from NRIs based in the US, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, UAE and even Saudi Arabia.
"We are receiving around Rs 10 lakh per day from all sources, and expect to hit the target Rs 20 crore soon as we still have time before the elections. Also our door-to-door collection programme is a hit, as it allows us to establish a connect with people," an AAP activist said.
The AAP, which has kept all its transactions and donations in public domain by posting details on its website, has got large amount of donations from the US-based NRIs.
"Over 4,000 donors have contributed a total of Rs 1,16,67,059, which is around 12 per cent of the party's total contribution, followed by NRIs in Hong Kong. One Hong Kong-based NRI has donated Rs 50 lakh for the party and assured us that he would urge other NRIs to donate more to the party fund," the activist said.
The party has also been receiving funds from NRIs based in Germany, Qatar, Kuwait, New Zealand, Singapore, Norway, the UK the Netherlands and Japan.
The AAP has over 47,000 online donors, which include rickshaw pullers, soldiers from Siachen or businessmen in America, the AAP activist said.
"Since the launch of the new party last November, Kejriwal knew money would be needed to fight the political battles," said an AAP leader.
During his public meetings in the national capital to garner support, he asked people to donate to the AAP.