Citing a media report claiming the Delhi civic body’s law department is reworking the MCD Act to give the lieutenant governor more teeth, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the BJP has conceded defeat in the municipal polls even before they have been announced.
Taking to Twitter, the chief minister exhorted Delhiites to not vote for the BJP and asserted that his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will emerge victorious in the civic polls whenever they are held.
“In a move that is likely to give more teeth to the Lieutenant Governor as an administrative entity, certain provisions of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957 are being changed, which, according to sources familiar with the development, would give Raj Niwas the final say on matters related to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD),” the media report stated. Reacting to the report, Kejriwal said, “This means the BJP has conceded defeat even before the MCD elections.” “Don’t waste your vote by voting for the party that has lost. After winning the MCD elections, the Aam Aadmi Party government will make Delhi a clean and beautiful city, and get rid of garbage mountains,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
इसका मतलब बीजेपी ने MCD चुनाव के पहले ही हार मान ली। हारने वाली पार्टी को वोट देकर अपना वोट बेकार ना करें।
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 13, 2022
MCD चुनाव जीतने के बाद आम आदमी पार्टी की सरकार दिल्ली को साफ़ सुथरा और सुंदर शहर बनाएगी, कूड़े के पहाड़ों से मुक्ति दिलाएंगे। pic.twitter.com/P6gPLW89nQ
There was no immediate reaction from the civic body or the BJP.
The BJP ruled the three erstwhile municipal corporations in Delhi and the AAP was the main opposition party till the terms of the civic bodies expired in May.
Elections to constitute a new civic body, which comes under the BJP-led Centre, are yet to be held as an exercise for delimitation of municipal wards is underway.
