Kejriwal changes sacrilege-convicted Mehrauli candidate, Delhi BJP slams flip-flop

New Delhi  (The Uttam Hindu): In a surprise move, the ruling AAP on Friday replaced its candidate from the Mehrauli constituency in south Delhi for the Assembly elections, inviting criticism from the BJP which questioned why AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal named the sacrilege-convicted candidate in the first place. Sitting MLA Naresh Yadav, convicted in the Punjab Quran sacrilege case, was named as an official candidate from Mehrauli in the last list of AAP candidates. However, party convenor and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday dropped Yadav and named Mahender Chaudhary as the AAP’s official candidate from the seat.

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that despite the sacrilege case, Kejriwal had decided not to change his party’s candidate from Mehrauli but has now taken a U-turn and dropped Yadav because of the significant role played by the new candidate’s financial power. Yadav was sentenced on November 30, 2024, by a court in Punjab in the sacrilege case involving the Quran. Despite this, Kejriwal had given him a ticket to contest elections from Mehrauli for the third time last week, he said. Sachdeva said that the sudden cancellation of Yadav’s ticket does not surprise Delhiites, as changing candidates after issuing a ticket is a common practice for Kejriwal. He has been doing this in every election. The Delhi BJP President said that there was speculation in the media that Kejriwal might drop 13 MLAs he has given tickets to for the fourth time, including a senior spokesperson-cum-Minister. He is just waiting for an offer from their possible replacement who has good financial backing, Sachdeva claimed. The BJP leader also attacked Kejriwal for allegedly demeaning migrants coming from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. He said that today Kejriwal is trying to show himself as a supporter of Poorvanchalis, but they have not forgotten his statement of September 30, 2019, when he said, “Biharis come to Delhi with a 500-rupee ticket, get Rs 5 lakh worth of free treatment, and leave.” People from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Haryana have not forgotten that Kejriwal has repeatedly stated that Delhi government hospitals and schools near the border of other states are under heavy pressure from outsiders, said Delhi BJP chief.