Mayoral polls: Congress to support AAP candidates

PTI

New Delhi, April 20

The Congress on Saturday announced that its councillors will support AAP candidates in the April 26 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayoral polls.

AAP has fielded Mahesh Khichi for the post of Mayor and Ravinder Bhardwaj for Deputy Mayor for the MCD mayoral elections.

Anil Bhardwaj, former MLA and chairman of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee’s communications department, said senior leaders held a meeting during which it was decided that the party would support AAP candidates in the polls.

The decision was taken so that the people of Delhi are not troubled and their work gets done, Bhardwaj said.

AAP and the Congress are contesting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance in Delhi.

The MCD on Friday sought the Election Commission’s permission to conduct the mayoral polls and also urged Lt Governor VK Saxena to appoint a presiding officer, a civic body official said.

The municipal body is required to obtain permission from the Election Commission to hold the polls as Model Code of Conduct is in force for the Lok Sabha elections. The opposition BJP has fielded Kishan Lal for the post of Mayor and Neeta Bisht for Deputy Mayor.

AAP welcomes

Cong’s decision

The AAP on Saturday welcomed the decision of the Congress to support its candidates in the upcoming Delhi mayoral polls.

Addressing a press conference here, senior Aam Aadmi Party leader and the party’s Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in-charge Durgesh Pathak expressed confidence that the AAP-Congress alliance will win the April 26 polls by a huge margin.

“We welcome this move (of the Congress). Together, we will fight against dictatorship and a corrupt government. The AAP and the Congress will together contest the MCD election and win the polls by a huge margin,” Pathak said.

“The BJP resorted to hooliganism in the last election but still lost the polls. Our only mission is to save the country and the Constitution,” he added, accusing the saffron party of asking for votes by telling people that it will amend the Constitution if elected.

“The country is going through a difficult time. Today, when BJP leaders are going to ask for votes, they are openly saying, you give us votes and we will amend the Constitution. It is the same Constitution that gave rights to women and Dalits and was framed after so many struggles by BR Ambedkar,” Pathak said.

“To ensure that democracy is not embarrassed, what happened in the Chandigarh mayoral polls does not happen in the MCD election, the Congress will support the AAP candidates for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the public interest,” former MLA Bharadwaj said.

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