JOIN USThe Aam Aadmi Party will launch its official newspaper-cum-newsletter ‘Aap ki Kranti’ on the Independence Day to take the party’s voice to every worker and supporter.
AAP leader Gopal Sharma will be the editor-in-chief of the publication newsletter which is modelled on a similar printed material circulated in Varanasi during Arvind Kejriwal’s Lok Sabha contest against BJP’s Narendra Modi.
AAP’s chief spokesperson Nagendra Sharma said there are no targets on the publication’s print order. “It will be need based. Like, we published about two lakh copies of the pamphlet used in Varanasi,” he said, adding that its annual subscription fee would be Rs 100.
He said an online edition of the mouthpiece was also being considered and the registration of the publication would be taken up as per the existing rules.
Hailing it as the only source of publicity for the party, Gopal Sharma said: “The public wants to know about us, about the kind of work being done by our party officials.”“It is important to have an official newspaper of the party. Just before the general elections, the media stopped giving coverage to our party and it’s then when we realised about having our own paper,” said Sharma.
Deepak Pilot, a volunteer of Aap ki Kranti team, said the newsletter’s trial in Varanasi received a positive response from the public.
“During the Lok Sabha elections, on a trial basis, the paper was launched to take feedback from the people about the party’s work. Through our paper, we wanted people to know about our struggle against corrupt politicians and our vision for the country,” he said.
The paper also tries to inform people about the duties and functions undertaken by all the 27 AAP party legislative members.
“Through this paper, we want to decentralise power. It will perform the role of a watchdog and let the public know and decide about the work undertaken by our representatives,” declared the editor.
When asked about the autonomy of the paper, the editor said a separate team of volunteers comprising of senior media persons has been formed and they would take all the decisions independent of party politics.
“Arvind ji told us to work as an independent media organisation and if need be, be critical about the party,” said Sharma.
Many rallyists who had come to hear Kejriwal at his Jantar Mantar rally welcomed the idea.
“I want to keep myself updated about the happenings and developments of the party. The paper will help me do so,” said Ramesh Chand Sharma, a retired government official.
As soon as the counters were opened for subscription, the AAP supporters queued to book a copy for themselves.
The editor said the paper would be the new avatar of an earlier pamphlet – which has over one lakh subscribers.
“We managed to distribute around 50 lakh copies during the general elections,” said an AAP volunteer from the media team.
The eight-page pamphlet survives on subscription fee and public funds.
“We are looking for advertisements from our supporters and don’t want to carry any obligatory advertising from companies,” said the editor.