"Our councillors were poached," Atishi alleges ahead of Delhi MCD polls

New Delhi [India], April 21 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing the BJP of undermining democratic principles in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Speaking to the reporters, Atishi alleged that the BJP, rattled by its defeat in the MCD elections, resorted to "poaching politics" to gain control of the civic body.
"In view of the crushing defeat in the MCD elections in Delhi, the BJP came up with an act to unify the MCD. There was not much change in the seats; the elections were held along with the Gujarat elections, so our strength is diverted. We won the elections, but even after that, our councillors were poached," she said.
Atishi claimed that despite AAP's victory in the MCD polls, several of its councillors were poached, resulting in the BJP gaining a majority in the MCD House.
"Today, after the poaching, the BJP is in the majority in the MCD House. Therefore, the Aam Aadmi Party will not contest the mayor's election. We do not do poaching politics. We want the BJP to form the government in the MCD as well. Now it is their responsibility to fulfil their promises made to the people of Delhi, whether it is security, electricity, water or cleanliness," she added.
She also targeted Environment Minister Manjinder Sirsa, criticising him for his "daily excuses" over the ongoing garbage management crisis in the city. Now they should fulfil their promises by forming the government in the MCD as well," Atishi said.
She said that the Aam Aadmi Party will now become a strong voice of the opposition in the MCD as well.
Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party announced that they will be fielding Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh as the party's mayoral candidate for the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi's annual election.
The Aam Aadmi Party has decided to abstain from the mayoral polls, saying that the BJP should "rule Delhi without any excuses."
The BJP has also announced that Jai Bhagwan Yadav will be contesting for the post of Deputy Mayor.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi convenor, Saurabh Bharadwaj, told reporters on Monday, "We have decided that we will not field an Aam Aadmi Party candidate in the Mayor's elections this time."
Hitting out at the BJP, he said that the ruling party should "elect its own Mayor, the BJP should form its own standing committee and should rule Delhi without any excuses."
"Whether we call it 4-engine government or 3-engine, as sometimes the 4th engine is the LG (VK Saxena), which works sometimes and does not, today he is silent," Bharadwaj said.
Raja Iqbal Singh is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the MCD. He has served as the former Mayor of North MCD, the Former Chairman of the Ward Committee in Civil Line Zone, and a former councillor of Mukherjee Nagar Ward 13.
The Delhi MCD polls are scheduled for April 25, with nominations for candidates open now.
Currently, AAP controls the mayoral post, as Mayor Mahesh Kumar Khinchi won the election in November 2024 by just three votes.
The three civic bodies, East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), were re-unified into a single entity on May 22, 2022, as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
In the 260-seat MCD, AAP currently leads the Corporation with an alliance with Congress. AAP has 114 seats, while Congress has 8, bringing the total to 122. With 12 seats vacant, the alliance passed the majority mark of 119. The BJP is the largest political party in the MCD, holding 116 seats. In MCD, 10 seats are nominated, while the remaining 250 are elected through wards. (ANI)