New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may have won the Delhi MCD polls comfortably but numbers show that it has been punished in some areas with Muslim majority vote.
For instance in Abul Fazal Enclave (Ward No-188), one of the 5 wards present inside the Okhla Assembly, Congress candidate Ariba Khan beat AAP's Wajid Khan. Ariba's father Asif Khan, a former Congress MLA, is in jail as he was arrested last month in Delhi for misbehaving and manhandling a policeman in the capital city.
Shaheen Bagh, which became the epicentre of anti-CAA protests across India, is covered under the Abul Fazal Enclave ward of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. As such AAP's loss here signifies the lack of trust among the residents given how Kejriwal's party had claimed in 2020 that Shaheen Bagh protest was "organised and sustained by the BJP".
In fact, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal received major flak for his statement that he would "get Shaheen Bagh cleared" if he had control over the police. Speaking to the media after the win Ariba too pointed out that her win was the "victory of Shaheen Bagh".
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"I want to thank the people for this win. This is not just my victory. This is the victory of Shaheen Bagh that had raised its voice against CAA and NRC. It is a victory of Congress, the party that stood by its people here," she said.
Ariba said that she will clear the entire municipal ward of garbage, an issue that has not been dealt with for years. "There are two major dumping grounds here and we need to take action in this matter," she said. Asked about her father, Ariba said that a team of lawyers was trying for his release and she hopes both father-daughter duo will work for people in the area.
Not just in Shaheen Bagh, in Zakir Nagar (another Muslim dominated area) as well, the AAP has faced defeat in the MCD polls as its candidate Salma Khan lost to Congress' Naziya Danish. Similarly, in Sarita Vihar, which has a mixed population, AAP's Juhi Khan lost to Neetu of the BJP. All three seats come under the Okhla Assembly constituency where AAP strongman Amanatullah Khan wielded influence.
