AAP outsmarts rivals to get its mayor elected
Even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has maneuvered its way to get its mayor elected despite winning in only 24 wards as compared to 40 seats won by the Congress, it has failed its core supporters who expected morality and honesty in politics.
The ruling party managed to convince seven Independents and two BJP councillors to come to its fold. Only one Independent candidate joined the Congress. With nine new inductions in the party, AAP still had only 33 in the 85-member Municipal Corporation House.
However, MLAs are de facto members of the MC House. In the previous MC general body, it had 90 members as only five MLAs from constituencies in the city were deemed eligible. This time, as the ruling party in the state was short of numbers, it increased the number of eligible members from five to seven.
With 24 AAP councillors, seven Independent councillors and two turncoats from the BJP and seven MLAs, all of whom are from the party, it managed to take its numbers to 40 in the MC House which had a total of 92 members (85 councillors and seven MLAs). As per 50 per cent plus one rule, it required 46 members in the House but was still short of six members.
However, on the day of voting yesterday, the remaining seven BJP candidates abstained from voting and the number of eligible voters to elect the mayor got reduced to 85 from 92. Now, with AAP leaders having publicly thanked SAD councillors for lending support and the SAD councillors in turn denying it, people have been left flabbergasted.
SAD leaders, including Bikram Singh Majithia and councillor and former senior deputy mayor Avtar Singh Truckawala have already stated that AAP has killed democracy.
