The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is poised to return to the helm of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi after over two years, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday announcing not to contest the upcoming mayoral elections in Delhi. This comes after a series of defections in the AAP ahead of the Mayoral elections. The AAP which has been ruling the MCD for more than two years after ending the BJP’s 15-year hold on the civic body, chose not to participate in the mayoral contest.
Addressing a press conference, former Delhi Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, said, “The AAP will play the role of a strong opposition in the MCD as well. BJP did a lot of rigging during the MCD elections but still it lost badly. Even after this, it did not stop and all the councillors were poached.” The election is scheduled for April 25, and Monday was the last day for filing nominations. AAP announced it will not field a candidate for the mayor’s post.
On the last day of filing nominations for the April 25 elections for Mayor and Deputy Mayor in Delhi, candidates of the BJP and the Congress entered the fray. BJP’s senior leader Raja Iqbal Singh, a former Mayor and currently the Leader of Opposition in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), filed his nomination for the post of Mayor. He represents Mukherjee Nagar, Ward No 13. For the post of Deputy Mayor, the BJP has nominated Jai Bhagwan Yadav, the councillor from Begumpur, Ward No 27.
The Congress’ Mandeep Singh filed his nomination for Mayor. He represents Nangloi, Ward No 47. Ariba Khan, the councillor from Abul Fazal Enclave, Ward No 188, was the party’s nominee for the post of Deputy Mayor.
Taking a dig at the Arvind Kejriwal’s party, CM Rekha Gupta said that the AAP’s political base has shifted in Delhi and people have completely lost faith in it. However, the CM claimed that the AAP MLAs and councillors are unhappy with their party leadership for adopting “anti-people” policies while being in power. “The political base of AAP has shifted in Delhi and people have lost faith in the party. It’s good that they have realised that the situation has changed in Delhi,” she added.
The BJP’s current strength in the MCD has increased to 113 following multiple defections from the AAP over the past few months. The AAP has 117. The Congress has eight and 12 councillors have been elected as MPs, leaving their seats vacant. Both MPs and MLAs nominated to the MCD are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections. In the 2022 MCD polls, the AAP bagged 134 of the 250 wards, while the BJP won 104. Later, however, several AAP councillors defected to the BJP.
Earlier, Atishi said her party does not believe in the “politics of sabotage and horse-trading” and has, therefore, decided not to participate in the mayoral contest. “Now the BJP should form its triple engine government and fulfil its promises made to the people of Delhi without any excuses,” Atishi said.
AAP’s Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, who was also present at the press conference, accused the BJP of indulging in malpractice during the delimitation process. Pointing to the BJP’s orchestration of an undemocratic power grab, Bharadwaj threw down the gauntlet, telling the BJP to form its “triple-engine” government and shoulder full responsibility for Delhi’s civic crisis. From garbage mountains to water shortages, law and order breakdowns to chemical leaks, Bharadwaj said every unfulfilled promise will now be the BJP’s burden—and within a month, its failure will be evident to all.
He said the decision was made to allow the BJP to elect its own Mayor, form its standing committee, and govern Delhi’s civic body “without any excuses.”
“We have decided that we will not field an Aam Aadmi Party candidate in the Mayor’s elections this time. BJP should elect its own Mayor, BJP should form its own standing committee and should rule Delhi without any excuses, “ Bharadwaj said.
Bharadwaj said, “The BJP’s desperation to hold on to power in Delhi has been evident for years. Back in 2022 — perhaps on 9th March — the Election Commission had announced that the MCD elections would be declared at 5 PM. But just before the announcement, the central government and the LG intervened to stop the State Election Commission’s press conference. They told them not to conduct the elections just yet, saying delimitation was to be done, the three MCDs would be merged into one, and elections would be held after six to eighteen months.”
He said the reason for this delay was crystal clear–the BJP was on track for a crushing defeat in the MCD elections. People were eager to vote for the AAP. The entire process was delayed to save the BJP from certain loss. Finally, the elections were conducted on December 4.” Bharadwaj also stated that the BJP controls the Centre, the Lieutenant Governor’s office, the Delhi government and soon the MCD, they have no reason to make excuses. It’s time they show the people of Delhi how to run the city’s entire administration effectively.
In response, BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor accused AAP of abandoning its responsibilities and attempting to avoid accountability. Kapoor alleged that AAP’s decision to not contest the mayoral election was a tactic to avoid facing the consequences of its governance.
