MCD polls: BJP says it is either party ticket or post
It is very clear and simple. They are not going to be ‘favoured’ or ‘preferred’ because of their stature in the party.
In a crucial decision taken just before the municipal polls, the Delhi BJP has decided to consider candidature of officebearers or family members only after they leave the post they are currently holding.
State unit chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday said party leaders occupying positions in the executive committee must resign from the post before staking claim for a ticket in the forthcoming elections.
“It is very clear and simple. They are not going to be ‘favoured’ or ‘preferred’ because of their stature in the party. The rule is intended to create a level playing field for all,” he said.
The decision of the party has come as a big blow to the new team of office-bearers. Sources said leaders holding different posts in the committee were hoping to secure the ticket for themselves or their family members with ease. “They would have been thinking it would be a cake walk for them. After this ‘resolution’, the situation has turned upside down. They have to follow the exercise like ‘other’ party workers,” said a source.
In the new team of office bearers, general secretaries Rajesh Bhatia and Ravinder Gupta are sitting councillors in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. Bhatia, councillor from Rajinder Nagar ward is also deputy chairman of standing committee, the key decision-making body of the corporation.
Gupta, a former north Delhi mayor, is from Karol Bagh ward. Meenakshi, a corporator from Shiv Vihar ward, is also secretary in Delhi BJP. She was EDMC mayor earlier.
A party insider said party’s assessment is already going on and soon it will plan its strategy for municipal polls. “The Delhi BJP will be in complete election mode after March 6, when the election campaigning ends in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
Earlier, Tiwari had said that the tickets will be given to only those 272 individuals who love the Delhi city and believe in the policies formulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.