New Delhi: After the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) released its list of candidates for the Delhi Assembly elections, it was decided to reassign the ticket to sitting MLA Naresh Yadav from Mehrauli, expressing trust in him. However, Naresh Yadav has now expressed his desire not to contest the elections and distanced himself from the election process and this was confirmed by him on Friday.
Case of Quran Desecration
Naresh Yadav was recently convicted in the Quran desecration case. In the wake of this, he urged AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal to withdraw his name from the election process. Consequently, Mahendra Chaudhary has been declared the candidate for the Mehrauli Assembly seat by AAP.
The case dates back to June 25, 2016, when torn pages of the Quran Sharif were found in Malerkotla, Punjab. The police registered a case, and Naresh Yadav was named as one of the accused. Last month, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Parminder Singh Grewal sentenced Naresh Yadav to two years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 11,000 in the desecration case.
Mahendra Chaudhary Declared as AAP Candidate
On December 15, AAP released the list of candidates for 38 assembly seats in Delhi, which included Naresh Yadav's name for Mehrauli. The BJP had raised objections, citing that AAP was fielding MLAs with serious criminal cases, including those recently sentenced by the court. In response to this controversy, AAP has now replaced Naresh Yadav with Mahendra Chaudhary as the candidate for the Mehrauli seat.
Read more: AAP MLA Naresh Yadav Sentenced To Two Years In Jail In 2016 Quran Sacrilege Case