AAP opts out of Bengaluru civic polls in light of city division plans

Following the AAP decision to opt out of the polls the Janata Dal Secular party had last week come up with an alliance offer to contest the city council polls.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s Karnataka unit has chosen to opt out of contesting for the forthcoming elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike on the grounds that it is a wasteful election since the Karnataka legislature has passed a bill to divide the Bengaluru city council into small units.

“It is only a matter of time before the Governor signs the bill and the state government will have to call for a re-election. Not much can be accomplished in the interim. Under the circumstances AAP does not deem it fit to encourage wasteful expenditure of people’s money by contesting polls,” Karnataka state convener for AAP Siddharth Sharma said.

AAP was believed to have been priming itself to contest the city council polls in Bengaluru after it emerged at the forefront of local battles like an agitation for the resignation of Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao whose son has been arrested in connection with an extortion racket operating in the Lokayukta.

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AAP will contest civic polls in Bengaluru once the city restructuring is complete, Sharma said.

Following the AAP decision to opt out of the polls the Janata Dal Secular party of former prime minister H D Devegowda had last week come up with an alliance offer to contest the city council polls. “I would like your good self to kindly issue directions to your party leaders in Bengaluru to support our party Janata Dal Secular to fight the upcoming BBMP elections to keep both the national parties at bay,” former PM Devegowda wrote in an August 7 letter to AAP convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. The AAP has however rejected the JDS offer.

AAP spokesperson Adarsh said the party felt that given its vision to provide political alternatives to the people AAP leadership is of the view that a political alliance would not serve the purpose of providing alternatives. The Bengaluru civic polls are scheduled for August 26 as per the current election schedule.

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