₹18,000 a month for pujaris: Arvind Kejriwal to launch registration of AAP's pre-poll scheme today

Delhi Elections 2025: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal has announced a monthly honorarium of ₹18,000 for temple priests and gurdwara granthis, if the party returns to power in Delhi assembly elections 2025.

The registration process for the scheme will be launched today, December 31 at the Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place, Kejriwal said.

“I will launch this scheme from Connaught Place’s auspicious Hanuman temple. I will do the registration of all the pandits in the temple. Later, our MLAs will take this forward in all 70 constituencies,” Kejriwal said.

The Pujari Granthi Samman Rashi Scheme, as it is called, is the AAP’s fifth poll promise in poll season. The Assembly elections in Delhi are due early next year.

The national capital's ruling party had earlier announced four welfare schemes targeting women, Dalits and senior citizens. It also promised 24×7 water supply.

The Delhi government already has a scheme for imams under which they are provided a monthly aid of ₹18,000. However, imams under the Waqf Board held a protest outside Kejriwal’s residence, demanding the release of their salaries, soon after the scheme was temple priests was announced.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called Kejriwal a ‘desperate leader’ after the announcement.

“We organised several protests and put pressure on Kejriwal’s government to provide wages to priests and granthis… After two years of pressure, Kejriwal was forced to announce the Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana,” , Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said.

Arvind Kejriwal desperate

“Kejriwal is now a defeated and desperate leader who is making daily populist announcements to stay in power," he said.

When is Delhi Assembly Election 2025?

The elections to the 70-member Delhi assembly are due in February 2025. The Election Commission of India has not announced the poll schedule yet.

The AAP, led by Kejriwal, is seeking to retain power in Delhi for a third time. The party won assembly elections in 2015 and 2020. The party won 67 seats in 2015 and 63 in 2020 in the 70-member Assembly.

The AAP has released candidates for all 70 seats in Delhi. The BJP has not yet released a candidate list. So far, the Congress has released 47 names in two lists of candidates for the elections.