It was the AAP's door-to-door campaigning, along with a slew of innovative measures like flash mobs that helped the over two-year-old party build a trust relationship with people across all spectrums of society in the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections.From flash mobs and nukkad nataks to musical gatherings and door-to-door campaigning across the 70 constituencies - the Aam Aadmi Party cadres and volunteers equally toiled to spread the party's vision and listen to the woes of the people."They used to visit us regularly and because of this they managed to build a trust relationship with us. They knew our problems and our issues. They soon became a part of our families due to their frequent visits," Indu Devi, a resident of the Yamuna Khadar slum cluster in east Delhi, told IANS.
For someone like Sudip Ray, a businessman, who usually commutes in a car, AAP volunteers braving the winter cold left a deep impression on his mind."I was born in this city. But never did I see so much enthusiasm among young party workers, who ensured that their party's voice reached the voters," Ray told IANS."Many times I saw volunteers wearing the party caps and holding placards asking the people to 'vote for Kejriwal' and this left a deep impression on my mind and the verdict is a testimony to this," he added."In fact, they campaigned in shopping malls and posh markets to catch the attention of the middle and affluent classes," he added. The party cadres for whom the "hardwork has finally paid off", this well-designed campaigning has been a major part of their game plan to win the hearts of Delhi voters after their brief 49-day stint in the government last year.
"We used to go to the houses in our constituency, usually on weekends and spent a lot of time with the people, discussing their problems. Corruption and the lack of basic amenities were the key issues... and that is where we started from," Hafizuddin, a 32-year-old volunteer from Okla, told IANS.He added that this feedback was then taken to the candidate in the constituency. "We became the voice of the people and acted as a bridge between the candidate and the masses," he added.And, to connect to the youth and elite, the party organised flash mobs, street plays and musical gatherings across the city."Singing songs while walking for campaigning helped us in connecting with the masses because it directly struck a chord," a volunteer told IANS, adding the party had organised around 200 flash mobs in Delhi."We never believed in preaching. Music and dance has a universal appeal and using these mediums were extremely successful as they helped us to strike an emotional chord with the people," he added.In addition, the party also organised jan sabhas, campaigned through posters at public places and on the transport system like the most-used Metro system and radio spots.