NEW DELHI – In a surprise move, the ruling AAP on Friday replaced its candidate from the Mehrauli constituency in south Delhi for the Assembly elections.
Sitting MLA Naresh Yadav, convicted in the Punjab Quran sacrilege case, was named as an official candidate from Mehrauli in the last list of AAP candidates. However, party convenor and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday dropped Yadav and named Mahender Chaudhary as the AAP’s official candidate from the seat.
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that despite the sacrilege case, Kejriwal had decided not to change his party’s candidate from Mehrauli but has now taken a U-turn and dropped Yadav because of the significant role played by the new candidate’s financial power.
Yadav was sentenced on November 30, 2024, by a court in Punjab in the sacrilege case involving the Quran. Despite this, Kejriwal had given him a ticket to contest elections from Mehrauli for the third time last week, he said. -IANS
