Arvind Kejriwal unlikely to campaign for civic polls

With bypolls in 13 MCD wards scheduled for next month, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal is unlikely to campaign for the party. The AAP has fielded candidates in all the 13 wards where bypolls are being held. The BJP, the Congress and Swaraj Abhiyan-backed independent candidate are also in fray in the bypolls.

“The chief minister is unlikely to campaign in the bypolls. He visits 22-30 constituencies every month on account of attending different functions and events. So there is an interaction with the public on a daily basis,” a senior party leader claimed.

With this move, the AAP also intends to send a message that its hold on Delhi is intact, more than a year after it swept power in the city and its “face” not campaigning for the party is unlikely to make any difference on the poll results.

The MCD bypolls are likely to prove a litmus test for all the parties. For the AAP, it will be a test to see whether Mr Kejriwal’s charisma, a year after the party’s stupendous victory, still persists while the BJP is battling nine-year anti-incumbency.

More importantly, the wards that are witnessing bypolls are mostly those where incumbent Aam Aadmi Party MLAs were councillors.

“So, the MLAs as well as the party’s grip on these wards remain intact,” the leader added.