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Election work in other states hitting MCD poll prep: Delhi BJP leaders
The BJP, which is hoping to win a fourth term in the three corporations, not only has to fight anti-incumbency but also counter the AAP’s accusations of widespread corruption and failure to ensure basic sanitation in the city.
About 150 Bharatiya Janata Patry (BJP) leaders, including some sitting councillors, from the party’s Delhi unit were sent to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab last week to prepare for the states’ assembly elections scheduled next year.
According to party leaders, this could hamper preparations for the municipal elections, which are scheduled in Delhi next year, and are crucial for the BJP to remain politically significant in the national Capital.
The BJP, which is hoping to win a fourth term in the three corporations, not only has to fight anti-incumbency but also counter the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) accusations of widespread corruption and failure to ensure basic sanitation in the city.
According to a senior BJP leader, BJP MLA and former Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta and general secretary Dinesh Pratap Singh have been tasked with supervising nine districts in western Uttar Pradesh, which comprise around 44 assembly seats.
Delhi BJP vice-presidents Virender Sachdeva, Ashok Goel Devraha and Sunil Yadav, councillor and former mayor of north corporation Jai Prakash, among others, have also been sent to UP.
Former Delhi BJP general secretary Rajesh Bhatia and former mayor of north corporation Yogender Chandolia will supervise the party’s work in Uttarakhand.
Delhi BJP vice-president Rajiv Babbar has been sent to Chandigarh to supervise preparations for the upcoming municipal elections.
“All these leaders have made a few trips to the respective areas assigned to them. But once the elections are declared, they will all be stationed there for at least 45 days,” said the senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity.
Another senior BJP leader, who has been sent to UP and didn’t want to be named, said, “We have to prepare for the municipal elections, which are likely to be in April. If the areas assigned to us are covered in the first two phases, then we will get adequate time to prepare for elections in Delhi.”
The BJP, which won 181 wards in the 2017 municipal elections despite strong anti-incumbency, is hoping to win a fourth term in the three corporations.
Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said that several leaders in Delhi are actively involved in the preparations for the upcoming elections while some leaders are in other states, and there will be no impact on preparations in Delhi. “The elections in other states are also important. This is not the first time Delhi BJP leaders have been sent to other states. Earlier too, we have sent leaders to work for the party in other states before municipal elections. We have a lot of people here who are working here for the municipal elections. There will be no impact on preparations in Delhi,” said Gupta.
He added, “We just finished the Jhuggi Samman Yatra and will soon start a similar campaign in unauthorised colonies and villages to tell people about the work done by the BJP-led corporations and also expose the AAP-led Delhi government.”
