MCD bypolls acid test for AAP leaders

It is going to be an acid test for city’s food and supplies minister Imran Hussain, Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, deputy speaker Bandana Kumari and nine other AAP legislators who have reportedly been told by the party leadership to ensure the victory of all its candidates for the 13 municipal wards where bypolls will be held on May 15.

The outcome of the MCD bypolls will also decide the future of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s council of ministers.

Of the 272 municipal seats in the city, the bypolls are being held in Qumuruddin Nagar, Shalimar Bagh North, Wazirpur, Ballimaran, Vikas Nagar, Nawada, Matiala, Munirka, Nanakpura, Bhati, Tehkhand, Khichripur and Jhilmil civic wards. Except for Nanakpura and Munirka wards, under the jurisdiction of R.K. Puram MLA Promila Tokas, all the remaining 11 wards are in the jurisdiction of only one Assembly segment. Of these 13 AAP legislators, about half-a-dozen had themselves earlier represented their respective municipal wards.

While the BJP has fielded candidates relatively having past experience in contesting municipal and Assembly polls, except for Nawada, Tehkhand and Khichripur wards, the Congress has fielded fresh faces in the remaining 10 municipal seats. Political pundits are of the view that the bypolls will throw a major challenge for all the three parties. For the BJP, which heads all the three municipal corporations, the bypolls will be a barometer to see whether the voters are satisfied with their four-year-old performance in the municipal wards. The outcome of the bypolls will also indicate how the ruling party will make its mark in the 2017 municipal elections in all the 272 wards.

The MCD bypolls will also throw a major challenge for the Congress which was wiped out in both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the national capital. If some surveys conducted in the recent past are any indication, then the Congress is likely to retain some of its voters it had lost to the AAP. That means, the rise of the Congress will be a major threat to the AAP, which had completely eaten into its votebank in the Assembly polls by securing 67 of the 70 seats.

A highly-placed source said the AAP leadership has made it clear to the chosen legislators that they would be squarely responsible for the outcome of the results of the municipal byelections. The bypoll outcome is likely to act as a benchmark for Mr Kejriwal to effect a Cabinet reshuffle.

For instance, if Mr Hussain in unable to secure victory for his Ballimaran candidate, there are strong chances that he may lose his Cabinet berth. While Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel has been helming an aggressive campaign for his Jhilmil ward candidate, deputy speaker Bandana Kumari has been personally supervising the campaigning of her Shalimar Bagh North candidate.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is said to be happy about Mr Goel’s efforts and there are indications that he might be inducted into his council of ministers in the next reshuffle.