Kejriwal unlikely to campaign in the MCD by-polls

New Delhi, April 20: With by-polls in 13 MCD wards scheduled next month, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal is unlikely to campaign for the party in the elections.

The AAP has fielded candidates in all 13 wards that are going to polls, in which the BJP, the Congress and Swaraj Abhiyan backed independent candidate are also in fray. "The Chief Minister is unlikely to campaign in the by-polls.

He visits 22-30 constituencies every month on account of attending different functions and events. So there is an interaction with the public on daily basis," a senior party leader claimed.

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

The MCD polls are likely to prove a litmus test for all the parties. For the AAP, it will be a test to see whether Kejriwal's charisma, a year after its stupendous victory, still persists while the BJP is battling 9-year anti-incumbency.

More importantly, the wards that are witnessing by-polls are mostly those where incumbent AAP MLAs were councillors. "So the MLAs as well as the party's grip on these wards remain intact," the leader added.

PTI