Kejriwal congratulates BJP, refrains from raising EVM issue

New Delhi, April 26

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday refrained from raising the EVM tampering issue, unlike other AAP leaders, as he congratulated the BJP on its victory in the municipal polls.

His reaction came hours after it became clear that the BJP swept the three Municipal Corporations. 

I congratulate BJP on their victory in all 3 MCDs. My govt looks forward to working wid MCDs for the betterment of Delhi

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 26, 2017

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The Aam Aadmi Party chief promised all cooperation to the civic bodies for the betterment of the national capital.

Ahead of the poll result, Kejriwal had threatened to launch an agitation over alleged “manipulation” of electronic voting machines (EVMS), an issue he had raised after the AAP’s disappointing performance in the recent Assembly elections in Punjab and Goa.

However, there was no word from him on the proposed agitation today.

“I congratulate BJP on their victory in all 3 MCDs. My govt looks forward to working wid MCDs for the betterment of Delhi (sic),” Kejriwal, who went into a huddle with top leaders of the AAP as the results trickled in, tweeted.

Through his carefully worded congratulatory message, the AAP chief also sought to couch the tension within the party over its defeat in the polls, coming as it does after a string of upsets in Punjab, Goa and the Rajouri Garden bypolls here.

Other AAP leaders, however, vociferously raked up the allegations of EVM tampering. Senior minister in the Delhi Government Gopal Rai said an “EVM wave” is sweeping across the city.

“This isn’t a Modi wave, this is an EVM wave. The same happened in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It is a major threat against democracy. The rights of the electorate will have to be ensured. The BJP wants to demolish democracy,” Rai told reporters.

“EVM tampering is the bitter truth of the country’s democracy. One can crack jokes on us initially. But fearing that we will be made fun of, we cannot refrain from speaking the truth,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters after the defeat in the civic elections just two years after AAP’s astounding win in Assembly polls.

AAP’s Delhi unit convener quits over MCD poll result 

AAP’s Delhi unit convenor Dilip Pandey resigned today over the party’s drubbing in the MCD polls.

 “I have resigned from d post of AAP Delhi Convenor, conveyed to National Convenor @ArvindKejriwal to give this responsibility to someone else (sic),” Pandey tweeted.

Pandey, a crucial cog in the party’s machinery, was overseeing MCD campaign and strategy along with AAP’s Delhi in-charge Ashish Talwar.

Two days before the poll results, Pandey had expressed apprehension that the MCD poll results could be “rigged” and the ground for it was being prepared by “floating” exit polls predicting a BJP sweep. — PTI