New Delhi [India], April 24 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced a complete boycott of the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections for Mayor and Deputy Mayor scheduled for Friday. Former Mayor Shelly Oberoi, Leader of the House Mukesh Goel, and Councillor Ankush Narang jointly declared that AAP will not participate, citing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of exerting complete control over Delhi through its "triple-engine government" at the Centre, State, and now MCD, according to a press release by AAP.
The AAP stated that it's time for the BJP to take full responsibility for governance and fulfil its promises without excuses. The party affirmed it will play the role of a constructive opposition and hold the BJP accountable.
During a press conference, Senior AAP leader Shelly Oberoi stated, "The MCD elections in Delhi were originally scheduled for March-April 2022. However, the BJP conspired to defeat the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Through deceit and manipulation, the BJP redrew the boundaries of all MCD wards. Despite this, in the elections held in December 2022, the people of Delhi gave the Aam Aadmi Party a clear majority."
She added, "When it was time to elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, the BJP once again resorted to unconstitutional and undemocratic tactics. AAP had to approach the court, and only then were our Mayor and Deputy Mayor duly elected. Following this, the BJP attempted to obstruct the Standing Committee elections as well, and to this day, the Standing Committee has not been formed. The people of Delhi have had to bear the brunt of this."
Highlighting the AAP government's initiatives, Oberoi said, "Arvind Kejriwal has always strived to formulate and implement policies in the public interest. Under the AAP-led MCD government, numerous initiatives have been undertaken for the benefit of the people. One of the key promises was the regularisation of all MCD employees, a process that was initiated. Employees began receiving their salaries on time."
She continued, "Just a few days ago, under the leadership of the AAP Mayor, the MCD House passed a proposal to regularise around 12,000 sanitation workers across all departments and to provide relief to citizens through a reduction in house tax."
Oberoi accused the BJP of hindering public welfare efforts, stating, "To hinder work for the public, the BJP pressured the MCD Commissioner and officials not to implement the approved proposals regarding regularisation of employees and house tax relief. Meanwhile, under the BJP's influence, the MCD Commissioner imposed additional user charges on the residents of Delhi."
"The Aam Aadmi Party has always fought for the interests of the people. Our government introduced policies that benefited both the public and thousands of employees awaiting regularisation," she asserted.
Looking ahead, the former Delhi Mayor said, "The MCD Mayor election is scheduled for Friday. The Aam Aadmi Party will completely boycott the election for Mayor and Deputy Mayor. This time, AAP will not participate in these elections."
She concluded with a pointed message, "Now, the BJP has a triple-engine government in Delhi--with control over the Centre, the State, and now a majority in the MCD. We expect the BJP to fulfil all its promises to the people and not make any excuses. The Aam Aadmi Party will play the role of a constructive opposition and will hold the BJP accountable. The MCD officials are now under pressure of the BJP and the Lieutenant Governor. It's time for the BJP to fully take charge of Delhi. We will be watching to see how effectively they work for the people and how sincerely they deliver on their promises."
Meanwhile, Leader of the House Mukesh Goel stated, "In the past two years, every initiative brought forward by the AAP government in the MCD for the benefit of Delhi's citizens has been thrown into the dustbin by the Commissioner under pressure from the BJP. We introduced a proposal on house tax that aimed to bring relief to the public properties under 100 square yards were to be exempt from house tax, and those between 100 and 500 square yards would receive a 50 per cent reduction. This was a major relief for the people of Delhi. The proposal was passed by the House, yet the Commissioner, influenced by the BJP, did not implement it."
He added, "We also passed a proposal to regularise 12,000 employees from various departments and allocated a budget for the same. Still, the Commissioner has sat on it, making no progress."
Mukesh Goel continued their objective was to ensure promotions and regular appointments for MCD employees, and to provide relief from the burdensome house tax that has troubled the citizens but again, the Commissioner, under the BJP's influence, did not implement these initiatives. He said that this reveals the BJP's double standards--they claim to serve the people, yet their actions suggest otherwise.
He remarked, "There's one thing the BJP did manage to do--without any proposal being brought before the House, they imposed user charges on the residents. Anyone paying taxes online found that user charges equivalent to their house tax were added to their accounts. This has caused significant distress among Delhi's residents."
Mukesh Goel declared, "Our party has decided not to field candidates in the Mayor and Deputy Mayor elections. Therefore, the Aam Aadmi Party will boycott Friday's mayoral election. The BJP is set to come to power, and their candidate will become Mayor. Now the responsibility lies with them to fulfil the promises made to the people of Delhi and implement the proposals passed by the House. If they fail, they will be exposed before the public. The BJP says one thing and does another."
Meanwhile, Councillor Ankush Narang also weighed in, crediting the Kejriwal-led AAP government for major reforms, including house tax relief.
"Many residents, despite paying house tax based on self-assessment, used to receive MCD notices claiming non-payment, which left tax dues pending. To address this, AAP introduced a scheme under which if a defaulter paid the current year's house tax in full, all previous dues would be waived. This would help the MCD collect revenue while resolving countless default cases," he said.
Ankush Narang further explained, "The MCD House, where all major decisions are made, unanimously passed the proposal that if residents pay the current year's house tax, their previous dues would be written off. Residents would only have to pay one year's tax, and properties under 100 square yards would be fully exempt. This was a historic decision that greatly impacts the people of Delhi. The Aam Aadmi Party came to power to benefit the people of Delhi. What Arvind Kejriwal says, he delivers--and the AAP government has proven that in the MCD."
He pointed out that despite the proposal for house tax relief being passed by the House, it continues to gather dust on the Commissioner's table.
"It has not been implemented because the BJP does not want it notified. The BJP's only goal is to grab power by any means. Now that a BJP Mayor is set to be elected, they must clarify whether they intend to take any decisions in the interest of the people. If the House has passed the proposal, why hasn't the Commissioner implemented it?" he said.
Ankush Narang confirmed that this is why the AAP will boycott the mayoral election on Friday.
"We will not participate in the House session. We were elected to protect the rights of Delhi's citizens. The AAP represents the voice of the people in the House. It is in their interest that we have decided to boycott the election. I hope the BJP will implement the public-interest decisions made by AAP and direct the Commissioner to approve and enact the house tax relief immediately," he added.