Dropped MLAs return to AAP

Three Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs – Jagdeep Singh, Mohammad Ishraque and Manoj Kumar – who had filed nomination papers as Independent candidates after being dropped

Three Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs – Jagdeep Singh, Mohammad Ishraque and Manoj Kumar – who had filed nomination papers as Independent candidates after being dropped from the party’s candidates list for the 2020 assembly polls, withdrew their nominations on Friday and said they will campaign for AAP.

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“I changed my mind after Arvind Kejriwal called and spoke to me. I expressed my anger at one point but it was wrong on my part to have acted in haste. I will continue supporting the AAP,” said Singh, who was a sitting MLA from Hari Nagar. A new name, Rajkumari Dhillon, replaced him for the February 8 polls.

Ishraque said, “Senior party leaders came to visit me and we discussed things in details. There is no doubt that I will stand with the party.” Ishraque, sitting MLA from Seelampur, a constituency that witnessed violence in December during protests against the recently amended citizenship law, was replaces on the candidates list by Abdul Rehman.

Kumar, sitting MLA from Kondli who was replaced by a new candidate Kuldeep Monu, confirmed about his nomination withdrawal but did not comment on the AAP’s campaign.

Three other dropped AAP MLAs, Adarsh Shastri of Dwarka, ND Sharma of Badarpur and Surender Singh of Delhi Cantonment, have not withdrawn their candidatures, for which the window closed on Friday.