Facing criticism, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday replaced its Mehrauli candidate Naresh Yadav, convicted last month in the Quran desecration case, with Mahender Choudhary for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls.
Yadav, the sitting MLA from Mehrauli, was convicted by a Punjab court with two-year sentence in the 2016 Quran desercration case.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak issued the party's fifth list and named Choudhary as the candidate from Mehrauli seat.
Earlier in the day, Yadav said in a post on X that he met AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal to inform him about his decision not to contest the polls till he is acquitted by the court in the case against him.
Yadav said that he joined the AAP impressed by Kejriwal's honesty and received a lot from the party.
The AAP has already announced all its candidates for the elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly due to be held in February next year.
Earlier on June 24, 2016, torn pages of the Quran were found scattered on a road in Malerkotla in Punjab. This led to violence and burning of vehicles by an angry mob. Four persons, including Yadav, were arrested in the case.
Yadav was acquitted in the sacrilege case in March 2021 by a lower court.
