Published 16:12 IST, January 16th 2020
AAP trying to convince MLAs who are unhappy over Delhi election tickets: Sisodia
AAP leader and Delhi's Deputy CM Manish Sisodia stated that the party is currently trying to meet and convince its MLAs who have not been given tickets
With the Delhi elections around the corner, a lot of AAP leaders seem to be upset with the ticket distribution, especially the sitting MLAs who haven't been granted a ticket. Earlier on Thursday there were also protests outside Arvind Kejriwal's office.
Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister and Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia on Thursday stated that the party is currently trying to convince the MLAs who are angry for not being given a ticket. He also dismissed all the allegations against the party over offering tickets for cash and refused to comment on the matter.
"We will win 67 seats, let BJP run for 40-45 -We are trying to meet our MLAs, and trying to convince those who are angry after the dismissal of their ticket -There is nothing for the allegations, nothing to say on that, allegations are made by everyone," he said.
AAP MLAs in touch with BJP
Sources on Thursday have reported that eight of the fifteen MLAs who have not been given a ticket have allegedly met with a top BJP leader for over three and a half hours. Moreover, sources report that BJP leaders wanted to arrange a meeting between the MLAs and BJP's central leadership. But, the leader was instructed to wait till January 17.
Furthermore, sources state that 3 or 4 of the eight MLAs may be accommodated on a BJP ticket. Other MLAs may reportedly be fielded as independent candidates in a bid to cut down AAP's vote share. On Wednesday, the Aam Aadmi Party had dropped 15 sitting MLAs from its list of 70 candidates and given tickets to a total of 24 first-timers, including Dilip Pandey, Raghav Chadha and Atishi Marlena who unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
AAP releases final list
On Tuesday, the Political Affairs Committee of the AAP approved all the 70 candidates for the upcoming Delhi assembly election. 46 sitting MLAs have been nominated by the party. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia will contest from New Delhi and Patparganj respectively. While the list mainly features mostly its own MLAs, it also features controversial MLA Amanatullah Khan, Satyendar Jain. Khan had allegedly made a provocative speech ahead of anti-CAA violence in Delhi Jamia Millia University, while Jain has been charge-sheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a disproportionate assets case.
Updated 16:12 IST, January 16th 2020