Delhi Mayor election: BJP confident of its nominee Iqbal's victory tomorrow

New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) On the eve of Mayoral elections in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, BJP leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the party nominee winning the top civic post.

BJP’s Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh is sure to win the election due to AAP’s decision to abstain from the contest. Iqbal is pitted against Congress’s Mandeep Singh. For the Deputy Mayor’s post BJP’s Jaibhagwan Yadav is being challenged by Congress’s Ariba Khan.

The AAP, which has already decided to abstain from the election by not fielding a nominee, has backed out of the contest as it has realised that the BJP has a numerical superiority in the civic House, said Kapoor.

Kapoor said that the AAP is disintegrating, and after two-and-a-half years of stagnant development work, their councillors want to break away from the party line.

The BJP claims to enjoy the support of 135 councillors in the municipal House. The AAP claims support of 119 councillors, while the Congress appear to have support of less than 10 councillors.

The voting on Friday is likely to reflect the realignment of forces in the Civic House, in which the AAP had won a majority in the last civic polls.

“Frustrated with the possibility of cross-voting and party infighting, AAP leaders have announced a boycott of the MCD Mayor election and imposed undemocratic restrictions on councillors attending the House on voting day on Friday,” said Kapoor.

“Delhi is set to get a BJP Mayor tomorrow, and with the Triple Engine government, development opportunities will be realised. We will see that the councillors' support for development is all-encompassing,” said Kapoor.

Kapoor said that the Aam Aadmi Party is disintegrating, and after 2.5 years of stagnant development work, their councillors now want to break away from the party line. Frustrated with the possibility of cross-voting and party infighting, AAP leaders have announced a boycott of the MCD Mayor election and imposed undemocratic restrictions on councillors attending the house.

Earlier, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta slammed the AAP for conceding defeat and deciding to abstain from the April 25 Mayoral elections, claiming the decision appeared linked to infighting and fear of political embarrassment.

Reacting to Delhi AAP convenor Saurabh Bharadwaj’s announcement that the party will abstain from the mayoral contest and not field a candidate, CM Gupta said, “It’s good that they have realised well in time that the wind is blowing against them.”

“Today, AAP councillors and leaders are upset with their own leaders. The party is fast losing ground in Delhi, and people don’t trust them anymore,” she said.

CM Gupta also hit out at the AAP for adopting double standards on election outcomes. “If they win any election, they trumpet it as a sign of their popularity. If they lose an election, then they start blaming the EVM and the entire system,” said CM Gupta.

--IANS

rch/dan