tepping up its attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the state election commission (SEC), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday alleged the saffron party threatened the poll body to defer announcing the civic poll dates as it feared a defeat. The BJP, however, has dismissed the charge.
Addressing a press conference, AAP leader Durgesh Pathak said, “It looks like BJP is running away from the elections after realising that the people have lost their trust in them. Our internal surveys show AAP to be winning 250 seats in the polls.”
On Friday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal too alleged that the SEC buckled under pressure from the Union government, even as he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to not “cancel” the elections, saying the country’s values should not be “infringed upon at any cost”.
AAP MLA Atishi, who was also present at Saturday’s press meet, alleged SEC was under pressure: “For the first time in history, questions are being raised on the EC’s sanctity...”
SEC officials did not respond to AAP’s charges on Saturday. They had earlier clarified that the civic elections have not been deferred, and that only the announcement of the poll dates was pushed back by “a few days”.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “BJP is not running away from elections, the Centre is trying unify the corporation to create an economically and administratively viable municipal corporation.”
{{/usCountry}}Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “BJP is not running away from elections, the Centre is trying unify the corporation to create an economically and administratively viable municipal corporation.”
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