Delhi municipal poll victory boosts Bengaluru AAP unit

BENGALURU: The victory of Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections by edging past ruling BJP has boosted the confidence of AAP Bengaluru unit workers.

As AAP won 134 out of the 250 wards and there was an indication that it would rule the municipality, party workers from across the city gathered at the party’s head office at Kumarakrupa near Seshadripuram and raised slogans and later took out a victory procession.

Former Bengaluru city police commissioner and AAP state vice-president Bhaskar Rao told The New Indian Express that AAP is ready to face the BBMP elections, but it is the ruling party that is scared to announce the polls, fearing it would face a drubbing at the hands of AAP, which is an emerging force.
“In fact, all the 27 MLAs from Bengaluru from both ruling BJP and Congress are happy that the voter data tampering scam has broken out as it would delay the election.

The MLAs have been hijacking and pocketing the funds. The election commission or court should not give them a long rope, and direct the government to hold the elections at the earliest. Citizens are being deprived of better civic amenities like roads, sanitation and drains to tackle floods,” he said.

Hitting out at Rao, BJP Bengaluru South district president NR Ramesh said the voter data tampering is in no way linked to BJP as fake voters were included much earlier in 2020. He claimed that around 1.5 lakh voters were added to the list at various Assembly segments in Bengaluru by including names of people from neighbouring states. After his complaint, many officials were suspended.

He said it is not true that the BJP government is delaying the elections. “BJP is ready to face the BBMP polls. We have also appointed a page committee in advance and have been working to build the party from the grassroots level and we will win whenever the polls are held,” said Ramesh.