The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) unveiled its manifesto on Wednesday, focusing on middle-class welfare ahead of the Delhi assembly elections. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal released the manifesto and presented a seven-point list of demands to the central government for inclusion in the upcoming Union Budget.

Arvind Kejriwal urged that the Budget should focus on the middle class, suggesting major reforms in education, healthcare, taxation and senior citizen welfare. The AAP leader highlighted these key demands: 

1. Increased education spending: Allocate 10% of the Budget to education, up from the current 2%, and introduce caps on private school fees.

2. Higher education support: Provide subsidies and scholarships to make higher education more accessible.

3. Boost health funding: Increase the health budget to 10% and remove taxes on health insurance.

4. Tax reforms: Raise the income tax exemption limit from ₹7 lakh to ₹10 lakh.

5. Essential goods relief: Remove GST from essential commodities.

6. Senior citizen benefits: Implement robust retirement plans, pension schemes, free medical services at all hospitals.

7. Travel concession: Provide a 50% concession on rail travel for senior citizens.

According to Arvind Kejriwal, "these demands aim to ease the financial burden on the middle class and address long-standing issues in education, health, and senior citizen welfare," highlighting the necessity of policies that put the needs of regular people first. “We use tax money for education, protecting the middle class from inflation. We reduced power tariff, water bills, we improved infrastructure in government hospitals,” Arvind Kejriwal said.

The AAP manifesto was released during a news conference on Wednesday morning where Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and Kejriwal accused Ramesh Bidhuri and his accomplices of engaging in "hooliganism" against AAP members on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Atishi accused the BJP of creating a "terror" atmosphere in the Kalkaji assembly constituency and called for action from the Election Commission of India (ECI). She stated that people claiming to be relatives of Bidhuri were threatening AAP workers, grabbing their collars and destroying campaign materials like pamphlets by burning them. "Ever since Rakesh Bidhuri is contesting elections from Kalkaji, BJP has created an atmosphere of terror in the Kalkaji Vidhan Sabha region. In every area, BJP workers, and some people who claim to be the 'bhatijas (nephews)' of Ramesh Bidhuri, are threatening AAP workers, grabbing their collars. They are snatching and burning the campaign materials," Atishi said. 

Joining the press conference, Kejriwal stated that the incidents Atishi detailed were not specific to any one assembly constituency. “What Atishi said is not limited to just one assembly constituency. BJP has resorted to hooliganism,” he said. “Any party or candidate resorts to violence only when they see that it is impossible to win peacefully. BJP is heading towards a historic defeat in Delhi. It will be written in history that a party will lose so badly,” Kejriwal added.

As the Delhi assembly election approaches, the competition between AAP and BJP continues to grow over various issues. Delhi will vote on February 5, and the results will be counted on February 8. A three-way contest is expected in Delhi between the ruling AAP, BJP, and Congress. Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 consecutive years, has faced setbacks in the last two assembly elections and has not won any seats. In the 2020 assembly elections, AAP won 62 out of 70 seats, while BJP managed to secure just eight seats.