Delhi Elections 2015: Supporters donate AAP Rs 60 lakh on Tuesday, highest online funding in a year

On a day that AAP got embroiled in the controversy over dubious donations, its supporters rallied behind the party, donating over Rs 60 lakh on Tuesday, making it the highest online funding in a year.

The party had received Rs 70,99,573 lakh on March 26, last year. But donations to the party had dried up after its poor showing in Lok Sabha elections. The donations again picked up since Delhi Assembly elections were announced last month with the daily online funding ranging between Rs 22 lakh and Rs 49 lakh. Party’s total online donations since November 2014 stood at nearly Rs 15 crore according to AAP’s official website.

From amounts ranging between one rupee and Rs 50,000, more than 2000 AAP supporters from all over the country and abroad made online donations. “It is simply amazing. The amount is rising by the minute. People are giving a befitting reply to BJP for unfairly targeting AAP,” said Bipul Dey, an AAP member handling administrative functions in the party.

The flow of online donations started around midnight but picked up around 6 am on Tuesday morning, flowing through the day. A big chunk of donations – over 40 per cent -- came from AAP supports in Delhi, 20 per cent from Maharashtra and 10 per cent from Karnataka. Kejriwal’s supporters in the US too came out in solidarity, comprising 10 per cent of the total donors. While a majority – over 70 per cent -- of donations originated in India, AAP’s supporters in UAE, Canada and UK also contributed. AAP had been receiving donations from supporters in 68 countries.

Dey told ET that increased donations were people’s way of showing their support and sympathy for Kejriwal and the party. He admitted that whenever there was a controversy targeting AAP, the donations tended to show an increase. “But this time it is phenomenal,” he said.

The AAP leader explained that these were only the online donations. The party received donations through cheques too and that amount was added only after they were cleared and the amount credited into AAP’s account. The verification process took some time, he said. The process may take even longer in the wake of the controversy.