Delhi elections 2015: Low on funds, AAP banks on volunteers

NEW DELHI: AAP will contest this election on a comparatively lower budget and will again depend on volunteers to take its message door to door.

Hundreds of volunteers are expected in Delhi within the next week from across the country and abroad. Many constituencies have already been adopted by different state units, some have also been taken up by AAP's international units. The volunteers are helping out with door-to-door canvassing, the buzz campaign, calling up people and other behind the scenes work.

"There are two kinds of volunteers we are expecting. The first kind will arrive shortly and stay on till the polls. They will be assigned constituencies on the basis of their comfort with a language. For instance, those coming from Punjab will be placed in seats that have a large Punjabi population. The other kind of volunteers, who will only be in Delhi for a short duration, will be used in the party's buzz campaign," said a senior party member.

The buzz campaign includes flash mobs, play for change and Metro-hopping. The party is expecting at least 7,000-10,000 volunteers till February.

Most of these volunteers, especially those coming in from other states, are expected to fund their own trips. AAP said that living arrangements have been made for 50-100 people in each constituency while others would be putting up with friends and family.

Many constituencies have been adopted by other state and country units. For instance, Punjab has adopted six constituencies, and around 15 constituencies have been adopted by countries like the US and the UK.