Gurgaon: AAP likely to give MCG polls a miss

The AAP is not keen on fighting the forthcoming municipal polls as most members feel that it is not ready to enter the fray

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may not contest the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) polls, according to sources. The polls were seen as a pivotal way for the party to make inroads into Haryana.

Posters of prospective MCG poll candidates are already up across the city.(Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

In March, AAP members had announced they would be contesting the MCG elections using the party symbol from all 35 wards, with a significant representation of women candidates.

However, it has been revealed that the party members are against contesting the elections as a majority of their members feel that they are underprepared for the upcoming elections.

“The Election Commission’s announcement of the MCG elections earlier this month left us with little time to finalize candidates or attain resources. As we will be participating for the first time in these elections, extensive campaigning is required. Hence, owing to these reasons, most members are in favour of not participating in the upcoming civic body polls,” an AAP member said.

AAP has been vocal in the past about spreading its influence from the national capital and making inroads into Haryana politics. Members said that the party had seen the MCG elections as a vital landmark for getting public attention.

The only representative of AAP in the previous electoral body was Nisha Singh, who had contested the 2011 MCG elections as an independent candidate but switched to AAP in 2014.

RS Rathee, the AAP’s state spokesperson, is likely to contest the MCG elections as an independent candidate.

In March, the party leaders had announced that the party gave representation to about 33% women in civic elections in Delhi and would apply the same rule for Gurgaon civic body polls. The party had also announced its district executive committee, comprising 32 members including five women, in March.

Read I Gurgaon: BJP appoints ward convenors in the run-up to MCG polls

After bagging the second highest number of seats in the Punjab Legislative Assembly elections earlier this year, AAP members had said that they have turned their attention towards the 2019 Haryana Legislative Assembly elections.