Atishi raises over Rs 18 lakh from crowdfunding drive, to file nomination today

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi raised Rs 18.56 lakh in online donations within 24 hours of launching a crowdfunding campaign to contest the upcoming Assembly elections.

On Sunday, January 12, Atishi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from the Kalkaji constituency, appealed to supporters to contribute towards her Rs 40 lakh goal. The campaign garnered support from 422 donors. While launching the crowdfunding drive, the AAP leader has said, “In the last five years, I have received a lot of love from my family in Kalkaji. I am sure their blessings will remain with me.”

Atishi, who is seeking re-election, is up against former BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, a former Member of Parliament, and Alka Lamba of the Congress. She will file her nomination papers on Monday after offering prayers. “I will go to Kalkaji temple and take blessings of Kalka Mai. Then after praying at Giri Nagar Gurudwara, I will start the nomination rally.,” she wrote in a Hindi post on X.

The run-up to the elections has been contentious, with Atishi facing derogatory remarks from her BJP rival Ramesh Bidhuri. Last week, Bidhuri accused her of “changing her father” by altering her surname from Marlena to Singh. The BJP leader also dismissed her emotional response to his remarks about her father during a press conference as “drama” and “crocodile tears.”

Atishi condemned the remarks, calling them an example of how “low” the BJP has stooped for political gains. She also alleged that Bidhuri is the BJP’s unofficial candidate for Chief Minister. In turn, the Delhi BJP leader rejected the claim as “completely baseless.”

In the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, Atishi won Kalkaji by a substantial margin, defeating Dharambir Singh of the BJP. The AAP secured a landslide victory in that election, retaining control of the 70-member assembly.

The Delhi Assembly elections will be held on February 5, with results to be announced on February 8.