AAP steps back from Delhi mayor elections, urges BJP to take charge 'without excuses'

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj announced on Monday that the party will not field a candidate for the upcoming Mayor elections in the national capital, clearing the way for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to take charge of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Bharadwaj said the decision was made to allow the BJP to elect its own Mayor, form its standing committee, and govern Delhi’s civic body “without any excuses.”
"We have decided that we will not field an Aam Aadmi Party candidate in the Mayor's elections this time. BJP should elect its own Mayor, BJP should form its own standing committee and should rule Delhi without any excuses, " Bharadwaj said.
Criticizing the BJP’s approach since the announcement of the MCD elections, Bharadwaj accused the party of attempting to grab power through unethical means.

"From the day the MCD elections were scheduled in Delhi, the desperation of the BJP to grab power is visible to everyone, whether it is unification by postponing the elections, or carving out small wards for the BJP in the name of delimitation or whether it is trying to win the elections of the Mayor and Standing Committee by continuously using corrupt practices...Now, they (BJP) have the centre, they have LG, they have Delhi government, and they will also have MCD, so now they should not make any excuses to the people of Delhi and they should show how to run the entire administration in Delhi, " Bharadwaj added.
Bharadwaj also stated that the BJP controls the Centre, the Lieutenant Governor’s office, the Delhi government, and soon the MCD, they have no reason to make excuses. It’s time they show the people of Delhi how to run the city’s entire administration effectively.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP President Virendraa Sachdeva has announced Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh as the party's candidate for Mayor and Jai Bhagwan Yadav as the deputy mayor candidate for the upcoming MCD annual elections.