Delhi municipal elections: AAP tells BJP to declare poll dates in a week

AAP MLA Atishi stated that the BJP sensed that the AAP will win over 250 seats in the municipal corporation elections just like it won 62 seats in Delhi and 92 in Punjab.
Image used for representational purpose only. (File Photo)
Image used for representational purpose only. (File Photo)

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gheraoed the BJP headquarter on Monday to protest against delay in municipal corporation elections. The party leaders said that the BJP coerced the election commission for political gains.

The AAP workers led by AAP State Convenor Gopal Rai raised slogans against the BJP. AAP MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak, National Secretary Pankaj Gupta and MLA Atishi were also present. Rai challenged the BJP to announce the poll dates in a week if the party doesn't fear AAP.

"No one expected that we would need to agitate to get the MCD elections conducted after our historic victory in Punjab. AAP National Secretary Pankaj Gupta said that the BJP can try as hard as it wants to delay the elections, but it will lose regardless of its countless efforts," added Rai.

Meanwhile, Atishi stated that the BJP sensed that the AAP will win over 250 seats in the municipal corporation elections just like it won 62 seats in Delhi and 92 in Punjab. Pathak on the issue said, "We don't have a problem with the unification of the civic bodies, however the real issue is the postponement of elections. Unification of MCD is possible even after the elections are conducted. The BJP is simply running away like cowards."

Atishi stated, "If the Modi government was truly concerned about the state of the MCD, why did they wait until an hour before postponing the date? If the BJP genuinely wanted to see progress in the MCD, it could have made this decision long time back."

The state unit of the BJP reacted sharply and said that the protest showcases the "anxiety" of the AAP over MCD elections. "The AAP has rather become a power-hungry party, which has no vision or agenda. AAP leaders must understand that the process of betterment in municipal corporations will take some time," said Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor.

Protest leads to traffic snarls

The AAP protest caused a traffic jam in the central Delhi's ITO area on Monday inconveniencing hundreds of commuters. People took to Twitter and shared their pain. Mohit Tomar, who works in the income tax department, said that it took him one hour to reach the Civic Centre from ITO.

"Generally it takes only 10 minutes from ITO to reach my office. But due to heavy traffic, I got stuck at ITO and reached my office one hour late," Tomar said. Another ommuters said that vehicles moved at a crawling pace on the road leading to ITO from Laxmi Nagar.

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