Infighting within BJP preventing selection of Delhi CM, says AAP

BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj at a Ravidas temple in New Delhi on Wednesday on the occasion of Guru Ravidas Jayanti.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the “delay in selecting a Chief Minister”, claiming that people are facing hardships because of the lack of a CM.

This is the first time AAP, as an Opposition party, has taken on the BJP, which won the Delhi Assembly election by securing 48 seats.

Addressing the media, AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said the BJP’s delay in finalising the CM is a clear sign of a rift within the party.

“The infighting within the BJP over the selection of Delhi’s Chief Minister is causing hardships for the people of the national capital. Several days have passed since the election results, yet the BJP has failed to appoint a Chief Minister, leading to prolonged power cuts across the city,” she said, urging the BJP to focus on governance by “putting an end to the infighting”.

“Factions of the BJP are meeting in groups of ten because they cannot agree on who should lead Delhi. Their internal conflict is ongoing, but why should the people of Delhi bear the brunt of it? On Tuesday, reports of prolonged power cuts emerged from several parts of Delhi,” she said.

‘Rejected by all’

Hitting back, the BJP said that AAP should stop worrying about the government formation in the national capital.

“After being rejected by all sections of society in the election, AAP leaders were expected to abandon their politics of lies and deception. However, just four days later, in a desperate attempt to stay in the news, Priyanka Kakkar has started making baseless and fabricated claims regarding electricity supply,” Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said. He also claimed that AAP has been facing a “power struggle” in Punjab after it lost the Delhi poll.

However, Ms. Kakkar said, “(AAP chief) Arvind Kejriwal is holding meetings with party workers, leaders from Punjab, and those who fought the Delhi poll to gather feedback and improve our approach.”

The BJP, which has won an Assembly election in Delhi after more than 26 years, is yet to hold a party legislators’ meeting to elect its leader who will lead it as the next CM.