Fed up with the callous attitude of politicians towards urban middle class citizens, Resident Welfare Association (RWAs) of Gurgaon decided to get together and form a political party called Gurgaon Residents Party (GRP) and participate in the 14th Lok Sabha polls. On Dec. 12 ,2004, ofthe 85 colonies in Gurgaon, 69 met and elected 72-year-old Col Ratan Singh as their candidate. Their platform - the common concerns of an urban community of literate, educated people in civil society, ignored by politicians because they don't constitute vote banks. The idea was to turn the residents into vote banks that no one could ignore. Concerns included a safe environment, good governance and an efficient transport system. The party raised money by charging every registered voter Rs 50. Since the number of registered voters was 75,000 they would have raised Rs 35,00,000 for the election but there was a great shortfall. The party lost its first election.
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First Party of RAWs
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