AAP’s Decision On Contesting Maharashtra Assembly Polls To Be Announced In Next 2 Days: Mukund Kirdat

Speaking to The Free Press Journal on Monday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Maharashtra spokesperson Mukund Kirdat said the recent reports of the party not contesting the upcoming state Assembly polls to focus on next year's Delhi election are not true. "AAP's state unit has given its detailed report to the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) on how many and which seats the party has a chance of winning. The decision regarding contesting these seats will be taken in the next two days," said Kirdat.

"There is anger in the minds of voters due to the current political situation of Maharashtra. Currently, no politician seems to have any ideology as every other day parties are being changed just to secure a ticket to contest the polls. However, our ideology is clear, and it does not align with either the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) or with the ruling Mahayuti. Therefore, we can provide a clean alternative for the people of the state," Kirdat said.

When asked if AAP contesting polls will hamper MVA's chances, Kirdat emphasised that it will be the opposite. "BJP voters are searching for an alternative as they are not happy with the alliance with Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). These voters can come towards us and it wouldn't dent MVA's votes. In a constituency like Shivajinagar in Pune, the core BJP voters are around 25%-30%. 10% of voters are floating and these voters can come towards us, which will ultimately only help the MVA."

Speaking about the BJP's first list of 99 candidates, the AAP leader said it reeks of dynastic politics even when the saffron party is so against it. "The party has renominated Siddharth Shirole from Shivajinagar, who is the son of the party's former MP Anil Shirole; Shreejaya Chavan, daughter of Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan, has been given the ticket from Bhokar; Sulabha Gaikwad, the wife of BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, has got the ticket from Kalyan East; in Chinchwad, MLA Ashwini Jagtap has been replaced by her brother-in-law Shankar Jagtap; the Shelar brothers — Ashish and Vinod — have got tickets from Vandre West and Malad West respectively; these are just a few examples."

The Assembly polls in Maharashtra are scheduled to be held on November 20, while the counting of votes is on November 23.