Delhi Polls: In a sharp escalation of his campaign rhetoric ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of withholding the announcement of its chief ministerial candidate due to fears of electoral humiliation.
Kejriwal further alleged that the BJP has internally decided on former South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri as its chief ministerial face. Bidhuri, who was overlooked for a ticket in the Lok Sabha elections, is fielded against Delhi Chief Minister Atishi in the high-stakes Kalkaji constituency.
Reacting to former chief minister Kejriwal’s charge, BJP’s Amit Shah accused AAP of manipulating public perception and spreading bogus claims. ” Can Arvind Kejriwal declare the CM face of BJP? Who is he to make such claims,” Union home Minister said at the ‘Slum Dwellers’ conference here.
#WATCH | Delhi: Speaking at the ‘Slum Dwellers’ conference, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, “Congress and ‘AAP-da’ cannot benefit the people of Delhi. Only the BJP can benefit them…They are making promises every day just for the sake of the vote bank. Can Arvind Kejriwal… pic.twitter.com/ZDNZWeoPAT
— ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2025
Shah further emphasised, “After the formation of the BJP government in Delhi, not a single welfare scheme for the poor will be stopped.” He urged the public to show trust in BJP’s manifesto and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantees.
“The BJP has listened to the pain, inconvenience and anger of the slum dwellers against the broken promises. They have made a list of all your problems and given it to BJP national president JP Nadda and Prime Minister Modi. Our manifesto will provide you relief from all your problems. The BJP manifesto is the guarantee of Prime Minister Modi. The BJP manifesto is not like the manifesto of ‘AAP-Da’. We do what we say,” ANI quotes Amit Shah as saying.
Speaking at AAP’s press conference on Saturday, Kejriwal had cited his internal sources and alleged, “We are getting information that Ramesh Bidhuri’s name will be officially announced (as BJP CM face) in the coming one or two days. I congratulate Ramesh Bidhuri on becoming the CM face of the BJP.”
“Ramesh Bidhuri should tell what he did for the development of Delhi while being an MP. What is his vision for Delhi? …After the official announcement of his name, there should be a debate between the CM candidates of the BJP and AAP in front of the people of Delhi,” he said.
In another major development, BJP released its second list of 29 candidates for the Delhi Assembly elections, set to take place on February 5. The votes will be counted, and the results announced on February 8.