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Stepping up the attack on the BJP ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal said the party is not announcing its chief ministerial candidate because it is afraid of suffering defeat. The AAP leader also claimed that the BJP has finalised the name of its former South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri - who was denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha polls but is contesting against Chief Minister Atishi from the Kalkaji constituency in the Assembly polls - as the chief ministerial candidate.
The BJP has hit back, claiming Mr Kejriwal's bail order will prevent him from becoming chief minister and saying the party does not need a face because its symbol, the lotus, is enough.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Mr Kejriwal said in Hindi, "The AAP has been clear from the beginning that I will be the chief ministerial candidate. The BJP's Central Election Committee met yesterday and sources tell us the party has probably decided to name Ramesh Bidhuri the chief ministerial candidate. Sources said his name will be declared in a day or two. I congratulate Mr Bidhuri and, on behalf of the people of Delhi, urge him to tell us about the work he has done as an MP for ten years. He should also lay out his vision for Delhi and the people of Delhi."
The former Delhi chief minister also said that once Mr Bidhuri's name is formally declared, a public debate should be held between them.
"This will make the vision of the respective people and parties clear to the people of Delhi and India. We will wait, maybe the announcement of Mr Bidhuri's name will happen in a day or two," he said.
Mr Bidhuri had made headlines in September 2023, when he used Islamophobic slurs against Amroha MP Danish Ali, sparking a huge controversy. After his candidature for the Delhi Assembly elections was declared earlier this month, his remarks on Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's cheeks and Atishi's surname change had stirred up a row. The comments earned him a rap from the BJP and he apologised for some of them.
Lashing out at Mr Kejriwal for his claims in the press conference, BJP leader RP Singh reminded the AAP chief of the court's conditions while granting him bail in the Delhi liquor police case and also spoke about the alleged extravagances at the Delhi chief minister's bungalow, which the opposition party has derisively termed 'Sheeshmahal'.
"Mr Kejriwal keeps talking about the chief ministerial face. That he is the chief ministerial face and who is against him. The court has said you (Mr Kejriwal) can't be the chief minister. According to the court order, you could not sign any file as the chief minister, couldn't go to the chief minister's office and nor could you call a meeting as chief minister. The order is still in force, you have not got any relief," Mr Singh said.
"And what face are you talking about? The face that gave a bottle of alcohol free on purchasing one, the face that allowed the opening of liquor shops outside schools and religious places, or the face that got commodes of gold installed (in the CM's bungalow). Our face is the lotus symbol. Our workers are going to every house with the symbol and promising a clean and honest government," he sneered.