The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was the first to kick-start its campaign for the bypolls of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by announcing the candidates earlier than the other political parties. The party, which swept to a historic mandate by winning 67 out of 70 Assembly seats last year, is riding on the same vein. AAP leaders say that they are expecting 100 per cent win in the municipal wards as people are disenchanted with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled corporations.
“Our expectations are clear. We will win all the 13 seats of the MCD wards in this bypolls. We pitched young faces for all the seats and are confident of a victory. Our door-to-door and early campaigning has helped in establishing a rapport with the people at the grassroots,” AAP leader and convenor of Delhi unit Dilip Kumar Pandey told The Pioneer.
Pandey said the victory in the bypolls would mean a lot to the party and it would make the most of this opportunity to showcase its work in Delhi. “We will see this victory as an outcome of the work carried by our Ministers and legislators in the city. The false propaganda and accusation that the BJP and the Congress are trying to built against us would be broken. There are a lot of opportunities in the MCD and the AAP will change the facade of this ignored corporation,” he said.
While the Congress is “nowhere” in competition to the AAP, another leader of AAP Deepak Bajpai said the BJP was the main rival.
“Delhi needs to get freedom from BJP. The condition of MCD schools and dispensaries are a matter of concern and only AAP would be able to mend it. The way our party has revamped education sector and health area is a model that needs to be followed for the development of MCD,” added Pandey.
The outcome of the bypolls is also going to decide the future of some of the Ministers who were given the responsibility of campaigning in their constituencies, in the Cabinet of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Of the 272 municipal seats, bypolls were held in Qumuruddin Nagar, Shalimar Bagh North, Wazirpur, Ballimaran, Vikas Nagar, Nawada, Matiala, Munirka, Nanakpura, Bhati, Tehkhand, Khichripur and Jhilmill wards. Except for Nanakpura and Munirka wards, which fall under the jurisdiction of RK Puram MlA Promila Tokas, all the remaining 11 wards fall under the jurisdiction of only one Assembly segment. Of these 13 AAP legislators, about half-a-dozen had themselves earlier represented their respective municipal wards.
Source said the AAP leadership has made it clear to its legislators, under whose jurisdiction the wards going for bypolls fall, that they would be squarely responsible for the outcome of the by-election results. The outcome of bypolls is likely to act as a benchmark for the CM to effect a Cabinet reshuffle in his Council of Ministers.
For instance, if Imran Hussain in unable to secure victory for his Ballimaran candidate, he will have to do a lot of explaining to the party high command. He may even lose his Cabinet berth, sources said. While Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel has been holding aggressive campaign for his Jhilmil ward candidate, Deputy Speaker Bandana Kumari has been personally supervising the campaigning of her Shalimar Bagh North candidate.
Though the Chief Minister is said to be happy over the functioning of Goel, there are indications that he might be inducted into his Council of Ministers in the next Cabinet reshuffle. Talks are also doing rounds in the AAP circles that Transport Minister Gopal Rai, who is not keeping well, may either be made the Speaker of the Assembly or get charge of some board or corporation.