AAP effect: BJP says no to criminals
Witnessing emergence of Kejriwal, BJP decides not to give tickets to criminals in polls.
New Delhi: Witnessing the emergence of the untainted outsider Arvind Kejriwal, the BJP has decided not to give tickets to leaders with criminal records or charges.
“The AAP impact on BJP is that no ticket will be given to bahubalis or criminals. In short, there will not be another Kushwaha experiment in the party,” a senior BJP leader said.
Controversies followed after the BJP had admitted former BSP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha, who was sacked by the then chief minister, party supremo Mayawati, after his name surfaced in the National Rural Health Commission (NRHC) scam and in connection with the murders of two chief medical officers of the family welfare department.
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Top BJP leaders felt that if Kejriwal was not effectively countered, India could see a repeat of V.P. Singh’s emergence in electoral politics in 1989. Party strategists pointed out that dalits and Muslims in India were moving rapidly towards the AAP.
The combined vote bank of dalits and Muslims is nearly 35 per cent, which is enough to tilt the balance.
In UP, called the 'gateway to Delhi', the combined strength of dalits and Muslims is around 35 per cent with 20 per cent Muslims and 15 per cent dalits. Besides this, the AAP is already attracting the youth and middle class, which was the BJP’s target vote bank.
In Haryana, the BJP-INLD and Haryana Janhit Congress are coming together to counter the AAP’s rapidly growing influence in the state. The ruling Congress in Haryana, reeling under the Robert Vadra controversy, is looking at options on how to extricate itself from the mess.