CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided not to contest the forthcoming municipal body elections in Punjab. This is when exit polls have predicted victory for the AAP in the Delhi Assembly elections.
According to sources, a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held on Sunday at Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in Delhi, where a party delegation from Punjab, led by state convener Sucha Singh Chhottepur, met the AAP chief.
The move came after the party units from a number of districts in the state conveyed that they were not fully prepared for the civic body elections.
It has been decided not to contest the coming civic body polls in Punjab.
The state government has made a mockery of the democratic setup at the civic body level, first by delaying the polls by one year even when there was no provision in the Constitution to extend the term of civic bodies or hold them under suspended animation. If there was a need to delimit the wards or extend the municipal limits, the Election Commission (EC) would have done it as per the Constitutional provisions.
“By suspending the civic bodies and appointing administrators, the state government has made a major Constitutional violation,” charged state AAP convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur.
He also flayed the timing of the announcement of elections to the civic bodies.
“The state government and the EC know that the the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party workers and leaders from Punjab are busy with the Delhi elections. Since there is hardly any time to select candidates with clean and honest record, the AAP has decided not to contest the civic body polls,” he said.
“The AAP will contest the next Assembly elections in Punjab with the promise of offering the people a fair, honest and corruption-free governance,” Chhotepur added.