The BJP may win more seats in the February 5 assembly election, but not enough to trump AAP, notes Ramesh Menon.
The Election Commission on Thursday asked its Delhi chief electoral officer to probe the Aam Aadmi Party's complaints against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Parvesh Verma and allegations of additions and deletions in the electoral roll of the New Delhi assembly seat.
Chief Minister-designate Atishi will be sworn in along with her new Council of ministers during a ceremony at the Raj Niwas on Saturday afternoon that will see Aam Aadmi Party form the government in Delhi for the fourth time in a row.
The poster, which has been put on a prominent road crossing in the city, is signed by one Vikas Kumar Jyoti, who, the party claimed, was not associated with the AAP.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mann in the swearing-in ceremony that took place at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in Punjab's Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district.
Three private gunmen hired by Rathee for security also suffered injuries in the attack.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday levelled fresh allegations of corruption against the Aam Aadmi Party, saying a former Delhi Jal Board chief engineer had 'transferred' Rs 2 crore of bribe money to his colleagues in the department and the ruling party in Delhi as election funds.
Kapil Mishra, a former AAP member and a vocal critic of the BJP, RSS, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has undergone a complete political transformation, becoming a controversial figure often regarded as the "posterboy of Hindutva." He has now been inducted as a minister in the newly formed Delhi government, marking a significant shift in his political allegiance and raising questions about his role in shaping the city's future.
Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the AAP, won the confidence motion with the support of 54 MLAs and said no legislator of his party defected.
Kejriwal alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party has been mocking him ever since he recited the 'Hanuman Chalisa' on a TV channel.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Congress stalwart and former prime minister Manmohan Singh thanking him for his 'sheer presence' in Rajya Sabha despite his poor health to vote against the Delhi services bill.
The AAP on Wednesday last had posted a video story on 'X' featuring industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Modi. The next day, the party posted a picture of Adani and Modi, and alleged that the prime minister works for the industrialist and not the people.
While extending support to his deputy, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal said Sisodia was going to be arrested in a bid to stop him from campaigning in Gujarat.
Names of Rajya Sabha MPs Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal are missing from the list.
After making an impressive debut in the capital, the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday said it will contest Lok Sabha elections, hinting that its leader Kumar Vishwas may contest against Rahul Gandhi.
Kejriwal has described his arrest by the ED ahead of the general election as an "unprecedented assault on the tenets of democracy" and urged the apex court to release him by declaring the case against him as "illegal".
Last month, Kejriwal had joined the contractual teachers in Punjab's Mohali, who staged a protest making a similar demand.
The ED also alleged that Kejriwal, during his questioning, said AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair 'did not report to him' but to his cabinet colleagues Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj and that his interaction with Nair was 'limited'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party also slammed Kejriwal's continuation as the chief minister of Delhi despite being under arrest, saying it is the most unfortunate moment in the country's political journey and the worst kind of politics.
With such announcements grabbing the voters' attention, critical issues like pollution, especially the smog that chokes Delhi every winter, remain largely unaddressed. Many residents have raised concerns over the lack of concrete action plans to combat air pollution, which continues to pose a severe health risk to Delhiites.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday named former TV anchor and journalist Isudan Gadhvi as its chief ministerial candidate for next month's assembly elections in Gujarat.
The Delhi CM said he refuses to be drawn into the ugly battle and will continue to focus on Delhi.
Attacking the BJP, he said the saffron party leaders tried to buy AAP MLAs but none of his legislators accepted their offer.
A day after the Aam Aadmi Party claimed that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had lost 8.5 kg in prison, Tihar jail sources on Monday said he had only lost 2 kg and he was being regularly monitored by a medical board of AIIMS.
Mann, who is often criticised by political opponents for "excessive drinking," hopes to shun liquor for the rest of his life.
Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal will go to Ralegan Siddhi on Thursday to extend support to Anna Hazare, who is on indefinite hunger strike for passage of Jan Lokpal Bill in the Parliament.
Kailash Gahlot, a key minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, has resigned, potentially impacting the party's ambitious plan to roll out a Rs 1000 monthly honorarium scheme for women ahead of the Assembly polls in February. Gahlot, who represented the Jat-dominated Najafgarh constituency in West Delhi, cited several issues, including the "Sheeshmahal" controversy over his former official residence, the Delhi government's tussle with the Centre, and the failure to clean the Yamuna River, in his resignation letter. Delhi BJP leaders welcomed Gahlot's resignation, fueling speculation that he could join the party before the assembly polls. However, AAP leaders claimed Gahlot resigned due to pressure from central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, and that joining the BJP was his last option. Gahlot's resignation has sparked speculation about his future and the impact it will have on the AAP's electoral prospects.
The Delhi government will not be run from jail, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said on Wednesday in the backdrop of statements by Aam Aadmi Party leaders that Arvind Kejriwal will continue as chief minister even if he is behind bars.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday alleged that some of its leaders, including MLAs and councillors, were place under house arrest or detained, while its volunteers stopped from participating in a protest outside the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi.
A Delhi court on Monday sent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15, noting the Enforcement Directorate's contention that his release could hamper the investigation into the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.
The Aam Aadmi Party has charged that the ordinance, promulgated Friday night, "overturns" the May 11 apex court order giving the elected government in Delhi the control over services matter. The development has set the stage for an intense confrontation between the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation and the Centre and the Lt Governor.
The BJP attacked Kejriwal after he refused to comment on the Maliwal "assault" matter during a press conference in Lucknow. He was flanked by Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh.
Hitting out at the Badals, the ruling family of Punjab, the Delhi chief minister said that once his party comes to power, it will launch a commission of inquiry against the family to investigate their 'misrule' in last ten years and send them behind bars.
In a blistering attack on the BJP, Kejriwal on Friday alleged that the opposition party's 'Operation Lotus' to topple his government failed as it could not poach any of the AAP MLAs.
Criticising Arvind Kejriwal for taking support from Congress to form government in Delhi, yoga guru Ramdev on Tuesday alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party convener became the chief minister of Delhi by "hijacking Anna Hazare's movement".
On Tuesday, Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata as part of their nationwide tour to garner support for the AAP's fight against the Centre's ordinance.
One of the lawyers of the chief minister said that they will be seeking urgent listing of the petition on Monday.
He said people want to know who would be the BJP's chief ministerial face, claiming that people are saying why they should vote for the BJP if it does not have the CM candidate.
The Aam Aadmi Party led by its chief minister designate Atishi staked claim to form a new government in Delhi on Tuesday shortly after Arvind Kejriwal resigned from the post, an effort seen as a bold gambit to seize the initiative ahead of assembly elections due in five months.
Banners terming Kejriwal "anti-Hindu" and showing him wearing a skull cap surfaced in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, and Vadodara cities on Saturday.
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