AAP begins first phase of MCD poll campaign

The Aam Aadmi Party kicked off its first phase of campaigning from Thursday, with its candidates starting marches in the 250 wards of Delhi and a cabinet minister carrying out a cleanliness drive The party offices in all the 250 wards of the MCD elections were also inaugurated. ''All the candidates will work in tandem with their respective ward offices,'' it said in a statement.

The party had started a 'Jan Samvad' (public dialogue) campaign at the booth level a few days ago. Its star campaigners and all the 250 candidates are holding a public dialogue at each booth every day against the alleged garbage mismanagement.

''The party has started carrying out activities on ground level on a massive scale,'' MLA Durgesh Pathak said, adding that it would hold marches in each booth every day.

He said the candidates would interact with the locals to understand their issues and seek votes.

''All the candidates have been given the responsibility to ensure that they take the 10 guarantees made by Arvind Kejriwal to the public,'' said Pathak, who is the AAP's in-charge for the MCD polls.

Cabinet minister Raaj Kumar Anand did a cleanliness drive by sweeping the streets with a broom in the ward of Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta.

''The BJP has ruled the MCD for the last 15 years. They failed to perform their primary responsibility of keeping Delhi clean,'' Anand said.

''It's shocking that the Delhi BJP president was once a councilor from Patel Nagar. It's quite pitiable that he could not keep his own area clean,'' the minister added.

AAP candidates Runakshi Sharma and Shelly Oberoi, who are contesting from Baljit Nagar and East Patel Nagar wards respectively, also cleaned the area with the volunteers.