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20 AAP MLAs disqualified by EC: Party has the numbers but faces this challenge

AAP leaders have confirmed that they will now approach the Delhi High Court, pleading that the EC recommendation be struck down.

With 66 MLAs in the 70-member house, their majority is now reduced to 46 — still in a comfortable majority. (Express photo by Ravi Kanojia/File)

With the Election Commission recommending the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs, the threat for the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is not immediate. With 66 MLAs in the 70-member house, their majority is now reduced to 46 — still in a comfortable majority.

AAP leaders have confirmed that they will now approach the Delhi High Court, pleading that the EC recommendation be struck down. AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj explained, “This is unprecedented. The MLAs in question didn’t get a chance to present their case before the EC. In fact, we didn’t hear about the news from the EC, but from news channels.” Click here for LIVE updates

The challenge for AAP, senior party leaders explain, is that some of the disqualified MLAs such as Alka Lamba and Adarsh Shastri, along with transport minister Kailash Gehlot, are some of their best performers and among the prominent political faces.

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“Gehlot is integral in the party’s expansion in the rural parts of Delhi, a former BJP bastion that AAP has managed to crack, particularly after the victory in Bawana where Gehlot played a key role and was projected as the village face being made a minister,” a party leader said.

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First published on: 19-01-2018 at 03:46:12 pm