Early announcement of candidates gives AAP the edge over rivals

With the Municipal elections scheduled for next month, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has gained a slight edge by declaring its candidates before its rivals.

The party, which has announced candidates for 248 out of 272 wards ahead of the announcement of dates, has claimed to bank support on sanitation and development in the city.

The party has long been eyeing the Poorvanchali residents to bag more voters. They have already kicked off the election campaign by roping in Poorvanchali leaders such as Gopal Rai, Kapil Mishra and Akhilesh Tripathi.

It has also fielded a large number of women and youth candidates by allotting 100 seats to women and 64 to young candidates.

Now, AAP is highlighting the 10-year misrule of the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Corporations — East, North and South — and also the leadership crisis in Congress which is in opposition in all MCDs in that period.

The party, in its rallies, slammed the publicity stunt by Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari to live in slums for ten days.

"Now, the slum dwellers understand the pattern of politics being chalked during the elections. Just a month before elections, the party candidates start living in the slums. Also, they organise meetings with slum dwellers but our party will stand with these socially and economically backwards throughout," said an AAP leader.

The BJP, still euphoric over its wins in the recent Assembly polls, is mainly bothered about balancing its women, youth and Scheduled Caste candidates in the civic polls.

The party is yet to announce its candidates and has faced difficulties in highlighting the works and services rendered by the civic bodies in the last decade.

Meanwhile, Tiwari has visited several slums with hundreds of supporters in order to woo the Poorvanchali voters.

He spent a night in a slum with a Muslim family at Sanjay Camp Jhuggi in a diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri and interacted with them about their daily problems.

The Congress, which suffered a jolt in Assembly elections, is still struggling to get an upper hand by wooing slum-dwellers and village population on issues such as water, electricity and sanitation.

Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken's aim is to target BJP and hence the party campaign revolves around castigating BJP. Congress leaders have been highlighting the unfulfilled promises of BJP and AAP.

"This is not anything new as we have seen the political leaders making promises on better water supply, toilets, regular electricity and proper sanitation. But after winning, they fail to keep the promises," said Congress' Khavinder Singh Captain, a former MCD Councillor.

Meanwhile, the AAP on Thursday said that it wants the Assembly elections in Gujarat, due later this year, to be conducted using ballot papers and not EVMs. AAP's Gujarat Incharge Gopal Rai on Thursday said they will approach the Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat in this regard soon. "We will make a representation before the Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat and demand that elections to the state Assembly, scheduled later this year, be conducted through ballot papers instead of EVMs (electronic voting machines)," Rai said.