The selection and rejection of several announced candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party have been surrounded by controversies. The most recent of these cases was reported on the last day of filing nominations for the elections when the party removed two candidates - Govardhan Singh from Mehrauli and Naresh Yadav from Mundka Assembly constituencies.
While indiscipline and corruption charges have been given as the reason for dropping these candidates, the party has replaced or refused to replace other “tainted” candidates.
Earlier, the AAP retained its candidate from the Patel Nagar Assembly seat, Hazari Lal Chahuan, even after he was booked for dowry harassment after his daughter-in-law accused him and five other family members of torturing her.
Mr. Chahuhan’s wife and all his four sons have been named as accused by his daughter-in-law Meenakshi Chauhan.
It did the same with another candidate Rajesh Gupta from Wazirpur, who was accused of assaulting a party worker and even an FIR was registered against him. Incidentally, both Mr. Chauhan and Mr. Gupta had come as replacement candidates. Mr. Chauhan was picked over last-time winner Bandana Kumari while Mr. Gupta got the nod after the party dropped the initially-selected Suresh Bhardwaj for “hiding certain facts”.
And that’s not where the list ends. Questions also surrounded the selection of AAP candidate Bhawna Gaur from Palam, who had to face a strong opposition from supporters in her area with some staging a protest outside the party office.
Another controversy which brought former Labour Minister and Madipur candidate Girish Soni into the spotlight was a young man accusing him of overstaying in a flat.
Another high-profile face of the party Somnath Bharti has been accused of racism and misbehaving with women, a charge that he and his party vehemently deny. The line of defence used by the party in justifying these decisions has been case-specific, but a recurring phrase has been “politically motivated”.
The party also boasts of an internal inquiry mechanism that swings into action each time an allegation is made and submits its report which influences the future course of action.
