AAP raises Rs 25 lakh from dinner party

 Over 100 traders participated in the dinner, adding up nearly Rs 25 lakh to the party’s coffer. The participants paid Rs 20,000 per plate to be part of party’s fundraising efforts. The dinner was hosted early this week at a club in South Delhi.

Former Delhi ministers Manish Sisoida, Satyendra Jain and two Lok Sabha candidates – former journalists Ashutosh and Ashish Khetan – attended the dinner. Arvind Kejriwal, however, didn’t turn up.

On a healthy collection day, the party receives a little over Rs 20 lakh as donation, said a party member. The dinner was organised by city traders who support AAP.

The upcoming dinner parties are likely to be organised by several clubs and associations in the city. Since Kejriwal has a busy campaign schedule, he may not attend those dinner parties, said party sources.

Before the dinner, traders quizzed AAP leaders on their election agenda and they also put forward their expectations from the party.

In an attempt to woo the community, the AAP when in power had announced to simplify filing of the Value Added Tax, which was a long-standing demand by several traders’ associations. The AAP said that the party leaders will sit with the traders to formalise party’s economic policies.

In the last two weeks the party has raised at least over a crore for its Lok Sabha campaign. Its Rs 20,000-per person fundraising dinner in Bangalore had yielded Rs 50 lakh. The AAP has also been part of such dinners in Nagpur, Gurgaon and Delhi.
The party candidates had hosted similar dinner during the Delhi Assembly polls, said former law minister Somnath Bharti.