NEW DELLHI — Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Monday criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over its reported decision not to contest the upcoming Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) Mayor elections, saying the party is in turmoil and losing ground to the BJP.
Speaking to IANS, Dikshit said the move reflects internal instability and a weakening grip of the party, especially as several of its members and supporters have recently switched allegiance to the BJP.
“It’s possible that their councillors or supporters may have left. There’s some turmoil within the Aam Aadmi Party, with members shifting to the BJP. That’s something they need to handle,” Dikshit said, responding to AAP’s withdrawal from the mayoral contest.
He added, “Personally, I consider it unfortunate. No matter which party it is, when someone gets elected under a party’s symbol and then leaves for another party, I find that unethical and wrong.”
Addressing a press conference, former Delhi Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, said, “The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will play the role of a strong Opposition in the MCD as well. BJP did a lot of rigging during the MCD elections but still it lost badly. Even after this, it did not stop and all the councillors were poached.”
She said her party does not believe in the “politics of sabotage and horse-trading” and has, therefore, decided not to participate in the mayoral contest.
Sandeep Dikshit also weighed in on other issues, including Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi’s, recent comments made during his US tour, in which he questioned the functioning of the Election Commission, citing discrepancies in vote counts in Maharashtra.
“This is a common topic of discussion these days. What exactly is the Election Commission doing? Suddenly, after one election, there’s a massive surge in votes, figures that were never there before and all those additional votes end up going to the BJP,” Dikshit said.
“It’s not just Rahul Gandhi or any one individual raising these concerns, these questions are being raised by the facts themselves,” he said.
While addressing the Indian diaspora in Boston, LoP Gandhi alleged that the Election Commission in India was “compromised”.– IANS
