Former East Delhi Municipal Corporation councillor from AAP, Haseeb-ul-Hasan. (Video screengrab)The Aam Aadmi Party’s move to collect documents of those who wanted tickets for the upcoming MCD polls backfired on Sunday as its former councillor Haseeb-ul-Hasan climbed atop an electricity transmission tower near Shastri Park on Sunday, alleging that party leaders had confiscated his documents and were not returning them. He has not found a place in AAP’s list of candidates.
Hasan, who was a councillor from the erstwhile East Delhi Municipal Corporation, said that he would not be able to file his nomination on Monday, which is the last day, without his documents.
Hasan, who had earlier this year entered an overflowing drain in Northeast Delhi to clean it and had later been bathed in milk by his supporters, climbed atop the tower around 10.30 am. Police, Delhi Fire Service, BSES as well as local administration officers reached the spot along with several of Hasan’s supporters, requesting him to come down.
Denied ticket in MCD polls, former Delhi AAP councillor climbs tower alleging confiscation of documents
— Express Delhi-NCR (@ieDelhi) November 13, 2022
Hasan, however, said, “The Aam Aadmi Party’s Durgesh Pathak and Atishi will be responsible if something happens to me, or if I die. They have my original documents, including my bank passbook. Tomorrow is the last day for filing nominations but they are not giving my documents to me.”
It was after Hasan’s documents were located and returned to him by the local administration that he climbed down around 3 pm.
He claimed AAP leaders had returned his documents under pressure from the media. He also alleged he was asked for money in lieu of a ticket and that people were paying crores of rupees to get a berth. “I will file my nomination tomorrow,” he added. When asked if he would contest as an Independent, Hasan said he would take a call soon.
AAP, meanwhile, tried to calm tempers and said in an official statement: “Haseeb-ul-Hasan is a dedicated and hardworking party worker. His being troubled after not getting a ticket is natural. Out of the lakhs of workers in Delhi, only 250 could get tickets. Every political party has several criteria in mind while giving tickets to people in every election. The party is sympathetic towards all those who could not get a ticket. In politics, elections are not the ultimate destination.”
Sources, meanwhile, said that the party had tasked one team in all 70 assembly constituencies to gather original documents from all probables ahead of the polls. “This has left a sour taste in the mouths of some workers, especially those who were not given tickets, as it seems like a clear attempt to stop them from contesting independently,” a source claimed.
A party official, however, said that documents were collected for scrutiny and to help those selected in the nomination process.
AAP did not officially respond to questions regarding the collection of documents. Pathak and Atishi could not be reached for comment.