NRIs excited as AAP government takes office in Delhi

NRIs excited as AAP government takes office in Delhi, gear up for supporting party in General Elections

By Pran Kurup

Continuing their wholehearted support for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), NRI activists around the globe are elated by the swearing in of Arvind Kejriwal as the Chief Minister of Delhi, following the impressive showing by AAP in the recently concluded Delhi State Assembly Elections. Celebrations have followed election results and majority of the NRI volunteers were in favor of AAP forming the government.

Roopsi Narula a party volunteer from New York says, 'We started at a time when the Indian media dismissed AAP as a chaar aadmi party. Today the same media is celebrating the success of this unique grassroots movement.

We have a long way to go but Delhi is a great start'. The next few months are crucial for the party as it sets out to fulfill its promises made to the people of Delhi. The party volunteers are now all set to support the party for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections as well. "It is great to see that are our efforts have paid off in the Delhi elections. We look forward to the Lok Sabha challenge." said Dr. Kamal Mahawar, a U.K based surgeon.

Along similar lines, on December 25, a group of 75 AAP supporters in Chicago organized a meeting, where NRIs who volunteered by going to Delhi, shared their experiences with other supporters.

The excitement among NRI community is palpable. As the AAP expands to other parts of India, NRIs are sureto be supportive every step along the way.

As a one year old party, AAP has created history in the recent Delhi elections by shaking the very foundations of the existing political parties. Arvind Kejriwal defeated the three time Chief Minister, Sheila Dixit by a record margin. AAP USA activists who have supported the party right from its formation saw this as a unique opportunity for them to contribute towards the dream of a corruption free and progressive India.

Mohammad Ameenuddin, an IT consultant from London says, ‘Today we have one and only one opportunity to cleanse the political system in India to enhance the quality of life for present and future generations whose future is currently crippled by dynasty/religious based politics in India’.

Volunteers teams from across the globe were actively involved in calling campaigns to speak to voters in Delhi and convince them to vote for AAP. Volunteers not only donated money to the party but also adopted constituencies in Delhi to ensure victory. Many left their lucrative jobs to be in Delhi to canvass for the party. Technological support from NRIs and social media activism were the hallmarks of the movement.

Ajit Singh, a technical architect at an IT company in New Jersey says, “I support AAP because the multitude problems in India can only be solved by being in active politics. Yes, good people should participate in politics and become lawmakers,”

The AAP expects to see a huge expansion in its NRI support base as it begins preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

About the Author:

Pran Kurup is an entrepreuner and former President of the Silicon Valley Indian Professionals Association (SIPA). He has published three technical books and has a broad range of interests incluing Current Events, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Nonprofit, and Politics, among other topics. Pran Kurup: aapbayarea@gmail.com

Who is Arvind Kejriwal?

A brief bio
Compiled by Swamy Irrinki

Arvind Kejriwal completed his undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in 1989. After his graduation he went on to work for Tata Steel like many IIT graduates who joined the industry. Later in 1992 he joined the India Revenue Service after qualifying through the Civil Services Examination. In February 2006, he resigned from his position of Joint Commissioner in the Income Tax Department. In December 1999, while he was still in service with the Income Tax Department, he helped found a an NGO named Parivartan (which means change), focused on assisting citizens, especially the poor in navigating income tax, electricity and food ration matters in parts of Delhi. He spent extensive efforts to educate people on the RTI and was instrumental in the RTI Act which was passed by the India parliament in 2005.

Kejriwal won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006. He donated his Magsaysay award money as a corpus fund to found an NGO, Public Cause Research Foundation. For of 2-3 years he served as Anna Hazare's key lieutenant in the historic India against Corruption movement. In 2011, NDTV awarded him the Indian of the year award along with Anna Hazare. Prior to this he has won numerous awards over the years - Ashoka Fellow award in 2004 for Civic Engagement, the Satyendra K. Dubey Memorial Award from IIT Kanpur for his campaign for bringing transparency in Government, and the CNN-IBN, Indian of the Year for Public Service in 2006, to name a few. He launched a series of daring corruption exposes on the who's who of India including leading cabinet ministers, key opposition leaders and Mr. Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.

In November 2012, he launched the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which is contesting its first elections in November for the Delhi Assembly. Kejriwal's impeccable track record, his honesty and integrity, his fearless anti-corruption crusade, and his simplicity and straight talk seems to have captured the imagination of many across the country, especially in Delhi. The media has predicted a "dream debut" for AAP in the Delhi elections.