Published 12:25 IST, January 16th 2020
'We'll win 67!': AAP promises 2015 repeat, throws down gauntlet to BJP before Delhi polls
Days ahead of the assembly elections in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has said that he is confident that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will win 67 seats.
Days ahead of the assembly elections in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has said that he is confident that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will win 67 seats. In the 70-seat assembly of Delhi, AAP had launched its campaign after hiring JDU Vice President and poll strategist Prashant Kishor. The party kickstarted its campaign with a motto of "Abki baar 67 paar" (this time more than 67).
Speaking to news agency ANI on Thursday, Sisodia said: "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 the ticket. There is nothing for the allegations, nothing to say on that, allegations are made by everyone.
Sisodia was speaking on the allegations that AAP sold its ticket for 20 crore. ND Sharma, the AAP MLA from Badarpur constituency resigned from the party and accused the party chief Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia of charging Rs 20 crore for election ticket to a ''land mafia''. Sharma claimed that he was asked for Rs 10 crore by Kejriwal himself. Meanwhile, in a major blow to the party, several members joined the BJP on Wednesday in the presence of Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, Vijay Goel, and Shazia Ilmi.
Delhi Assembly Elections
The Election Commission announced that Delhi will go to polls in a single phase for the assembly elections on February 8, Saturday. The counting of votes will take place on February 11. The last day of filing nominations for the candidates will be on January 21 and the last day to withdraw nominations will be for January 24.
The BJP and Congress are yet to name their Chief Ministerial faces. For the BJP, names such as Manoj Tiwari, Hardeep Puri and Harsh Vardhan have been touted, though Amit Shah has stated in the absence of a formal name that the BJP would contest under PM Modi's leadership. The ruling AAP will contest the election with Kejriwal leading them.
In what is the major highlight of the Delhi elections scheduled next year is Prashant Kishor's team working with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. While poll strategist Prashant Kishor and his team I-PAC is strategizing his re-election for the next term with a target of "Abki baar 67 paar"(This time we will cross 67), BJP, which has not held the Delhi Assembly since 1998, has strongly hinted towards Manoj Tiwari being its CM candidate.
Kejriwal's AAP had bagged 67 out of the 70 seats of the Delhi Assembly in the last elections. In the past six months, he has rolled out many schemes and has claimed that his party is the only party to fulfill all manifesto promises. BJP has dismissed his claims and called his schemes a freebie before elections.
Updated 12:26 IST, January 16th 2020