The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surrendered in front of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today, paving the way for the unopposed election of Dr Shelly Oberoi as the Mayor of Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The admission of defeat by the BJP was announced by AAP MCD Incharge and MLA Shri Durgesh Pathak, who said that the BJP did not have the numbers to contest the elections. Many councillors of BJP, who believe in democracy, would have voted in AAP’s favour; to avoid such insult, the Bharatiya Janata Party ran away from the fight, he said. According to the AAP Leader, the BJP had made several offers to the AAP councillors, including a bribe of Rs 10 crore each and a meeting with Amit Shah, in an attempt to persuade them to switch sides. For the first time in history, the BJP took the help of Delhi Police to buy our councillors, he added.
Dr Shelly Oberoi, who is set to become the Mayor of Delhi once again, said that she would work diligently to fulfil the vision of Chief Minister Dr Arvind Kejriwal. All the expectations of the people, including clean streets, world-class schools, hospitals, and parks, will be fulfilled very soon. Salaries, regularisation, and other issues of MCD employees will be resolved, she added. We will rise above politics and run the House in an impartial manner, declared Dr Oberoi.
AAP’s Deputy Mayor Shri Aaley Mohammad Iqbal assured the people of Delhi that the party would fulfil each of CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s 10 guarantees. AAP’s Leader of the House Shri Mukesh Goyal, urged BJP councillors not to play politics and instead help solve Delhi’s problems.
Speaking about the victory, senior AAP leader and MCD in-charge Shri Durgesh Pathak said that for the first time today, Shri Narendra Modi-led BJP has completely surrendered in front of Shri Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP. He added that today the BJP has decided not to contest polls for the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the MCD. He further said that the last couple of weeks have been excellent for AAP as the BJP has had to surrender against the party in several battles.
He reminded the people how two months ago when for the first time the elections were to take place the BJP decided to break all the constitutional norms and tried to use brute force to try and get a Presiding Officer of its choice. But this time around, anticipating its defeat, when Shri Arvind Kejriwal nominated the name of Shri Mukesh Goyal for the post, there was no opposition to it and he was selected for the post. Similarly when it was time to conduct the elections for the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the MCD, the BJP candidates decided to surrender. Therefore, the AAP candidates for the post of Mayor Dr Shelly Oberoi and for the post of Deputy Mayor Shri Aaley Mohammad Iqbal have once again won.
Highlighting the arrogance of the BJP leaders, Shri Durgesh Pathak said that when on 18th April, the candidates for both the posts were announced, the BJP went on to say that both of its candidates would win. He further said that the BJP tried to put pressure on AAP councillors to cross-vote for the BJP candidate. He also alleged that some AAP councillors were being offered Rs 10 crore to vote for the BJP candidate. He also added that the BJP leaders tried to use the Delhi Police to try and threaten AAP councillors. “Several ACPs and DCPs of Delhi Police were used to pressurize AAP councillors and I say this with responsibility. Our councillors were asked to take Rs 10 crore and it was told to them that there would be a meeting with Amit Shah and that they will have to leave AAP. I do not think that any other political party in the history of India has stooped as low as the BJP,” he said.
The senior AAP leader said that today when the BJP councillors entered the House, they knew it well that the numbers were not in their favour. He added that perhaps the senior leaders were also aware that some of the BJP councillors, who believe in democracy and are against such illegal tactics used by the BJP, would cross-vote for the AAP candidate, and therefore to not face such embarrassment, their candidates decided to surrender. Shri Durgesh Pathak said that this was a great victory for AAP and all of its party workers. He added that this was a great victory for Shri Arvind Kejriwal and the idea of politics that he represents.
He concluded by congratulating the AAP Mayoral candidate Dr Shelly Oberoi who has been elected as the Mayor of the MCD, and the newly elected Deputy Mayor of the MCD Shri Aaley Mohammad Iqbal. He also congratulated senior AAP leader Shri Mukesh Goyal who was earlier selected as the Presiding Officer of the House. He reminded all the winners the faith that the residents of Delhi have entrusted them with, and said that he was sure that they will work to the best of their abilities and the facilities that have been guaranteed to the residents such as better parks and cleaner streets will be worked upon by the officials.
Mayor Dr Shelly Oberoi thanked Shri Arvind Kejriwal for once again believing in her and giving her this valuable opportunity to become the Mayor once again. She also thanked all the councillors of the MCD, both elected and nominated, for showing their faith in her. She also said that it was because of the faith of the residents of Delhi that she had become what she was today.
She further added that under her leadership the MCD will work sincerely to fulfill the guarantees that have been made to the residents of Delhi – of better schools, hospitals, parks. She also said that the problems faced by the MCD staff regarding the disbursal of their salaries and other issues will also be solved immediately. She assured the citizens that the MCD would work to fulfill all of their aspirations and that under her guidance the House will be allowed to function without any partisan politics.
Deputy Mayor of the MCD Shri Aaley Mohammad Iqbal also took the opportunity to thank Shri Arvind Kejriwal for entrusting him with this important responsibility once again. He said that the people of Delhi had reposed their faith in AAP and it was the duty of his and Dr Shelly Oberoi to work hard to fulfill the aspirations of the people. He added that the two would work together to fulfill the ten guarantees that Shri Arvind Kejriwal has made to the residents of Delhi. He also added that it is known by all that the MCD had been turned into a mess over the last 15-year rule of the BJP and it has now once again been turned in the right direction.
MCD’s Leader of the House Shri Mukesh Goyal thanked Shri Arvind Kejriwal for nominating him for this important post and said that the LG was forced to accept the decision. He said that the BJP candidates today surrendered as they knew that they did not have the numbers to form the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of their choice. He welcomed their decision and said that he hoped that the BJP councillors would not indulge in negative politics and would go on to work for the residents of Delhi. “Eventually we are all here to work for the people of Delhi. It would be good if the BJP councillors do not obstruct the work of the MCD and instead provide support to ensure that it is the people who benefit from the elected officials of the MCD,” he said.
