Page 11 - Aap

A question of transitivity: Why predicting electoral outcomes is hazardous

Voter behaviour is as unpredictable as the crow on a tree. You don't know in which direction it will fly off

New parties came to Gujarat, were wiped out: Amit Shah taunts AAP

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying that new parties came to Gujarat, made tall claims and promised guarantees ahead of the Assembly elections, but were wiped out after the results. In a virtual address to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Surat, he also said that the party's landslide victory in the state proves that Gujarat was and will always remain the saffron outfit's stronghold. "New parties came to Gujarat, made tall claims and gave guarantees, but after the election results they were wiped out," Shah said. In the recently-concluded Gujarat Assembly elections, the BJP scripted history by winning 156 out of the total 182 seats. The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, which ran a high-decibel campaign and made several poll promises, managed to win only five seats, while the Congress party finished second by bagging 17 seats. "This historic win (of the BJP) gave a message to the country that Gujarat was, is and will always be BJP's ...

AAP challenges BJP to field their own candidate for MCD mayor post

The Aam Aadmi Party Saturday claimed the BJP will support an Independent candidate for Delhi mayor and challenged it to field its own candidate for the top MCD post. At a press conference, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha claimed the BJP has said it would not field any candidate for the mayor's post. "We have heard that the BJP is supporting an Independent candidate for the mayor post. What are they scared of that they are not fielding their own candidate?" he asked. The AAP Friday finalised six names as its candidates for various MCD posts, including that of mayor and deputy mayor, with Shelly Oberoi emerging as the choice for the top post in the civic body. On December 7, the AAP won the MCD polls with 134 seats, ending the 15-year rule of the BJP in the municipal corporation and reducing the Congress to just nine seats in a house of 250.

Aam Aadmi Party announces candidate for Delhi mayoral election on Jan 6

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday announced Shelly Oberoi as its candidate for the post of Mayor and Aaley Muhammad Iqbal for the Deputy Mayor post

AAP used excise scam to generate illegal funds, caused Rs 2,873 cr loss: ED

The ED has claimed in its charge sheet before a court here that the Delhi Excise Policy, which caused total loss of Rs 2,873 crore to govt exchequer, was a device created by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, some of who are part of Delhi government, to generate illegal funds. In its first charge sheet filed in the scam, the agency alleged that the constitution of expert committee and calling of public opinion were merely eyewash and their reports were never to be implemented. The policy was formulated with deliberate loopholes, inbuilt mechanism to facilitate illegal activities and is marred with inconsistencies which when looked deeply, reflect malafide intentions of the policymakers, it alleged. This policy promoted cartel formations through back door, awarded exorbitant wholesale (12 per cent) and huge retail profit margin of 185% and incentivized other illegal activities on account of criminal and political conspiracy of leaders of AAP, it alleged, adding that the 12 per cent profi

Delhi LG asks chief secy to recover Rs 97 cr from AAP for advertisements

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has directed the chief secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from the AAP for political advertisements it published in the guise of government advertisements in 2016, official sources said on Tuesday. The development comes days after the AAP wrested power from the BJP in the MCD polls. The AAP alleged that the LG gave the order on the saffron party's directions and claimed that Saxena has no power to issue such a directive. The opposition BJP in Delhi welcomed the LG's directions and claimed that the amount to be recovered from the ruling party will rise to Rs 400 crore. At a press conference held here, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged an "advertisement scam" and demanded a CBI inquiry into it. The LG in his orders to the chief secretary also directed that all advertisements since September 2016 be referred to the Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA), set up by the Ministry of Informatio

BJP should give Rs 22,000 cr first: AAP after LG orders to recover Rs 97 cr

After Delhi Lt Governor asked Chief Secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from AAP for political advertisements which it published as govt advertisement, AAP said that BJP should give Rs 22,000 crore first

Delhi L-G asks chief secy to recover Rs 97 cr from AAP for political ads

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has directed the chief secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from the Aam Aadmi Party for political advertisements it published in the guise of government advertisements, official sources said on Tuesday. Identifying specific advertisements published by the government which were in "stark violation of guidelines", a Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising had in 2016 directed the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) to quantify the amounts spent by it in such advertisements and recover the same from the ruling AAP, they added. The DIP quantified that Rs 97,14,69,137 had been spent or booked on account of "non-conforming advertisements". "Of this, while payments amounting to over Rs 42.26 crore had already been released by the DIP, Rs 54.87 crore for advertisements published were still pending disbursal," a source said. The DIP in 2017 directed the AAP to pay over Rs 42.26 crore to the state exchequer immediately and direct

Delhi L-G cannot pass such orders, says AAP on direction to pay Rs 97 cr

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday said Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has no power to pass orders directing the chief secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from the party for "political advertisements". Addressing a press conference here, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj termed the LG's direction a "new love letter". "The BJP is flustered that we have become a national party and wrested power from it in the MCD. LG sahab is doing everything in accordance with the BJP's directions and that is troubling the people of Delhi. The more worried Delhi's people are, the happier the BJP gets," Bhardwaj claimed. He further said that the LG's directions would not stand in the eyes of law. "The Delhi LG has no such power. He cannot issue such directions. These won't stand in front of the law. Other state governments also issue advertisements. The BJP's various state governments issued advertisements that have been published here. We want to ask when will the Rs 22,000 crore spent on the .

AAP prepares pitch for 2024 elections at its National Council met

The meeting concluded with the National Council noting the party's achievements over the last decade and passing resolutions against rising inflation and unemployment and Chinese aggression

Delhi LG V K Saxena approves appointment of several officers in MCD

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has approved appointment of several officers in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, officials said on Saturday. These appointments have been done after selection through a "duly laid down procedure" through open advertisements, shortlisting by a selection committee on the basis of weightage provided to prefixed criteria and interviews, they said. The LG has "approved the appointment of three additional deputy commissioners/joint assessor and collector, and 19 administrative officers/assistant assessor and collectors in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)," a senior Raj Niwas official said. Ever since taking over as the LG, Saxena has been pitching for efficiency in MCD and had instructed officials to fill up vacant posts at the earliest, he said. "Appointed on deputation from other government services and departments like CSS, IRS, NDMC, CAG, CGST & CE and Income Tax Deptt. etc., these officers will help the understaffed Corporation to a large ...

Visit each street, get it cleaned in your presence: Delhi CM to councillors

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday asked the newly-elected AAP councillors to visit every colony in their ward and get it cleaned in their presence. The Aam Aadmi Party won 134 wards in the recently-concluded Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls and ended BJP's 15-year rule. The BJP won 104 wards, while Congress could only win nine. "We all have to clean Delhi together. I appeal to all councillors -- go to each and every street, colony in your ward and get it cleaned in your presence," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi. The first meeting of the newly-elected MCD will be convened on January 6 next year.

Graft issue hurt AAP in MCD polls, effect to be more in 2-3 yrs: BJP leader

The corruption issue raised by the BJP against the Arvind Kejriwal government had an impact in the MCD polls and the effect will magnify in two to three years when the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls are held, the party's Delhi unit working president Virendra Sachdeva claimed Wednesday. "(Prime Minister) Narendra Modi is the leader of everyone in the BJP and the rest of us are just workers," he said, adding the party's vote share will be boosted by increasing awareness among people about various benefits Delhi has received from the Central government's initiatives. Under Modi's leadership, BJP leaders and workers will work towards ensuring that the party wins all seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi and better its 52 per cent vote share of the last Lok Sabha polls in the next general elections, Sachdeva told reporters. Sachdeva took over as working president of the Delhi BJP last Sunday after Adesh Gupta stepped down following the party's defeat in the Municipal Corporation of .

'3,000 raids on opposition leaders', says AAP's Sanjay Singh in RS

He alleged that the government agencies were deliberately harassing the opposition

BJP's Adesh Gupta resigns post-MCD loss; interim charge with Sachdeva

Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta resigned on Sunday, days after the party's defeat in the municipal corporation polls to the Aam Aadmi Party. The BJP's Delhi unit vice president Virendra Sachdeva has been appointed acting president. The Aam Aadmi Party ended the BJP's 15-year-rule in the Municipal of Delhi (MCD) poll in results announced on Wednesday. The AAP won the elections with 134 seats, while the BJP bagged 104. "The resignation of Adesh Gupta as Delhi BJP president has been accepted as per the direction of BJP national president Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda. Delhi unit vice president Virendra Sachdeva is being appointed working state unit chief till the next order," the BJP's national general secretary Arun Singh said in a communication. The demand for an organisational overhaul in the Delhi BJP had begun immediately after the party's loss in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections. Amid the clamour for change, Gupta had in a meeting on the result day, asserted he was

AAP spoilt Cong party in Gujarat, has no appeal outside Delhi: Chidambaram

The Congress is best placed to be the "pole" around which a non-BJP front can be built for the 2024 general elections, senior party leader P Chidambaram said on Sunday and asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party does not have much appeal outside Delhi with the exception of Haryana and Punjab. Chidambaram also stressed that there were lessons to be learnt by the Congress from the Gujarat loss, saying there is no such thing as a "silent" campaign in a hard-fought election. In an interview with PTI, he also said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) played spoiler in Gujarat, like it did earlier in Goa and Uttarakhand. He weighed in on the recent elections in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh assemblies and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi should reflect on the fact that the BJP was in power in all three but was defeated in two. "That is a huge setback for the BJP. The win in Gujarat, important as it is, cannot hide the fact that the BJP, the incumbent, was defeated ...

AAP divides Delhi in 12 zones, assigns 4 leaders for monitoring areas

The AAP has divided Delhi into 12 zones and given the responsibility of three zones each to four senior leaders, who will coordinate with councillors of their zones, hold meetings and visit their areas to understand the problems faced by locals. The 12 zones are Civil Lines, Rohini, Najafgarh, Narela, Keshavpuram, West Zone, Sadar, Karol Bagh, Shahdara North, Central, South and Shahdara South, an official statement issued on Saturday said. The move comes days after the Aam Aadmi Party wrested power from the BJP in the high-stakes civic polls in the national capital. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party bagged 134 of the 250 wards while the BJP won 104. AAP leader Adil Khan will be in charge of Civil Lines, Rohini and Najafgarh, while Saurabh Bhardwaj will oversee Narela, Keshavpuram and West Zone. The responsibility of Sadar, Karol Bagh and Shahdara North will be with Durgesh Pathak and Central, South and Shahdara South will be with Atishi, it said. "It was not possible for one person to

'Heavy BJP machinery made MCD polls toughest election contested by AAP'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the "heavy BJP machinery" deployed during campaigning made the MCD polls the toughest election contested by the Aam Aadmi Party so far, accusing the saffron party of pressuring media to spread propaganda. Addressing the newly elected councillors, Kejriwal asserted that the AAP does positive politics and talks about "our work" "This election was very very tough. A few people say it was an easy election, but it was not. The way they conspired against us and the way they used state machinery against us, it was the toughest elections we ever contested," Kejriwal claimed. "Heavy BJP machinery deployed during campaigning made MCD poll the toughest election contested by the AAP so far," he added. Referring to the purported videos of jailed minister Satyender Jain, the chief minister said the BJP pressured the media to spread "propaganda against us". "We do positive politics and talk about our work. The BJP through fake videos and lett

Worker of Rahul Gandhi: Ali Mehdi on returning to Cong after joining AAP

The announcement came through a video posted by Mehdi on Twitter in which he was seen "apologising" for his "mistake"

National Judicial Commission Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha, AAP opposes

A private member bill to regulate the appointment of judges through the National Judicial Commission was on Friday introduced in Rajya Sabha by CPI(M)'s Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya but was opposed by AAP MP Raghav Chadha. The National Judicial Commission Bill, 2022 was introduced after the majority of voice votes were in its favour. Bhattacharyya moved the bill that aims to regulate the procedure to be followed by the National Judicial Commission for recommending people for appointment as the Chief Justice of India and other judges of the Supreme Court and Chief Justices and other judges of High Courts. The bill, if approved, will also regulate their transfers and to lay down judicial standards and provide for accountability of judges, and establish credible and expedient mechanism for investigating into individual complaints for misbehaviour or incapacity of a judge of the apex court or of a high court and to regulate the procedure for such investigation. It also proposes for the