The Congress got a shot in the arm on Thursday with five senior local BSP leaders and AAP’s Balmiki Samaj coordinator joining the party to take on the saffron outfit and the newbie party in the upcoming Assembly elections. The Congress also criticised the AAP for spending crores of rupees on its advertising campaign.
The BSP leaders who along with several of supporters joined the Congress are Naresh Chand Rathore, Raviraj Yadav, Shamshuddin Saifi, Om Prakash Chautala and Prem Sharma. Rathore had secured about 8,000 votes during the last Assembly elections from the Ghonda seat. Yadav too had contested on the BSP ticket from Trinagar. Sharma was the party’s candidate from Hari Nagar in 2008 Assembly polls. While Saifi was the BSP’s co-ordinator, Chautala was the party’s candidate in 2007 municipal polls.
Former national secretary of the BJP’s SC Morcha Mahendra Singh, who had later become coordinator of the AAP’s Balmiki Samaj, along with a large number of his supporters also joined the Congress. All the leaders who joined the Congress said that they endorsed the party’s programmes and policies under the leadership of its president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi. They said that the 15-year rule of the Congress was of development and progress and for the continuation of the same it was necessary to bring the party back to power in Delhi.
Hitting out at the AAP’s advertising campaign for the upcoming elections, Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh lovely said it was amazing that the same party which had been accusing others of corruption was spending crores of rupees on its pre-poll campaign. “We were in power for 15 years and we do not have money to launch such a huge advertising campaign. And this newbie party has been spending crores of rupees even before the elections have been notified in the city.”
lovely claimed that the AAP had already put up hoardings worth Rs30 crore all across the city. Asked whether the Congress will also launch its campaign to counter AAP on radio, he said: “It costs Rs4 to Rs5 crore to campaign on radio for one month. We should ask AAP wherefrom they are getting this money… We will also launch our advertising campaign after the elections are notified by the EC.”
On the BJP move to put up only Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pictures in hoardings, lovely said this clearly showed that the saffron party had nothing else to show to the Delhiites. “The BJP has been running the municipal corporation for eight years. They have done nothing all through this period. That’s why they have nothing to showcase for the upcoming elections.”