NEW DELHI: The Arvind Kejriwal-led government's "aam aadmi" advertisements have cost the exchequer nearly Rs 60 crore in 11 months. This includes campaigns across print, television, radio and outdoor publicity by all the departments of the state. While Delhi Information and Publicity Directorate has released around Rs 25 crore from its massive budget of Rs 526 crore, various campaigns that are running or have concluded will cost another Rs 35 crore. Aggressive advertising before and during the odd-even scheme alone cost at least Rs 2 crore. Kejriwal has used publicity campaigns to connect with his audience and spread the "aam aadmi" rhetoric. In the first 11 months of his government, his ability to offer innovative solutions has been under continuous public scrutiny because of his turf battles with lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung and the BJP-led Centre over distribution of powers.With two months remaining in this financial year, the government is likely to launch its next ad blitz around its first anniversary on February 14. It has been criticised for spending on publicity and advertising campaigns seen to be political in nature. The unprecedented budgetary allocation of over Rs 526 crore for advertising and publicity in the maiden AAP budget had grabbed eyeballs and put the AAP government's spending on ads under severe public scrutiny as Congress and BJP accused the government of being "publicity driven". Congress went to the high court alleging misuse of public funds for advertisements that were political in nature. It also highlighted the high spending on advertisements.These 11 months have been marked by eight or nine mega campaigns and all these have been built around the persona of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Besides this, each department has released its own advertisements. Be it the first outdoor publicity campaign showcasing the power and water subsidies promised by AAP in the run-up to the polls or the larger-than-life images of Kejriwal telling people to use the 1031 helpline to report corrupt bureaucrats.In June, the AAP government worked around the Supreme Court directive to not use photographs of chief ministers in government advertisements, by using a storyline built around Kejriwal. However, most of its advertisement campaigns ran into controversies with the opposition parties contesting the claims made in them, whether it was the government claiming arrest of 35 officers by Anti-Corruption Branch or politically charged letters posted as advertisements on women's safety. Even the advertising campaigns on the enhanced education budget or the reforms undertaken were disputed by opponents.However, none of this has deterred the AAP government from bringing out campaign after campaign to promote its work and reach out to the city and its voters. The odd-even campaign was just one example of the chief minister using radio to talk to people.