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AAP Withdraws From Civic Polls In Mumbai, And Fuels Speculations
Swarajya Staff
Nov 15, 2016, 03:40 PM | Updated 03:40 PM IST
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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced its decision to not contest in the upcoming elections to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM, also known as BMC) to be held in early 2017.
The party had launched a campaign against various ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – Shiv Sena coalition earlier which was thought to be an attempt to gain a foothold in the city.
The decision was taken at a party meeting last week. AAP has also decided not to back any independents.
The party had earlier contested all six seats in Mumbai during the General Elections in 2014, but could not win any, losing deposits in all six seats. In the previous elections held in 2012, many votes had gone to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which however has lost steam in the city.
The BMC is India’s richest municipal body with its most recent annual budget (2016-2017) being tabled for Rs. 37052 crores. While the AAP has claimed that it is pulling out of Mumbai to focus on the Goa and Punjab assembly elections, also set for 2017, speculations are rife that this may be a direct result of the recent demonetisation drive of the Modi government.
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