Tripathi’s withdrawal
is a blow to AAP since he was responsible for bringing to light an
alleged scam regarding purchase of equipment for
the differently-abled by Khurshid-led Zakir Hussain Trust
In a fresh setback to Aam Aadmi Party, four candidates including those pitted against high-profile opponents like central ministers Salman Khurshid and Sachin Pilot withdrew nominations on Monday citing lack of party support or alleging corruption in the party.
Candidates from Farukkhabad, Etah and Agra in Uttar Pradesh and Ajmer in
Rajasthan withdrew, giving credence to criticism that the party had
spread itself too thin and was unable to offer significant support to
its candidates or has not been able to vet them adequately.
The withdrawals come after AAP expelled some UP activists following allegations of bribes being sought for tickets and an uneven response to the party's national campaign apart from some exceptions like Chandigarh.
Journalist-turned-social activist Mukul Tripathi,
contesting against foreign minister Salman Khurshid, withdrew his
candidature saying, "I have returned the ticket and left the party as I
am not getting any support from the organization... There is corruption
in the internal organization.''
He claimed that his attempts to reach AAP leader Sanjay Singh proved futile and he had spent money out of his own pocket.
Tripathi's withdrawal is a blow to AAP since he was responsible for
bringing to light an alleged scam regarding purchase of equipment for
the differently-abled by Khurshid-led Zakir Hussain Trust. Others like
Dilip Yadav from Etah, Ravinder Singh from Agra and Ajay Somani from
Ajmer have also dropped out.
AAP sources said this had led to
serious concern within the party about ticket distribution. "This has
become a shortcoming of the party due to shortage of time and haste. We
need systemic reform but that can be done only after the elections,''
the leader said. Sources said in some cases the party had received
complaints about the candidate's image after public scrutiny and had
asked the person to withdraw.
When asked if the party was
indeed worried about the recent dropouts, AAP leader Manish Sisodia
said, "We had publicly announced that we would not be able to provide
financial support or resources to candidates. It is an election of the
aam aadmi and those who feel they cannot challenge the status quo can
leave. This is the new kind of politics.''
On the issue of
complaints against party's candidates like Khaled Parvez who was given a
ticket from Moradabad and were later asked to leave, another AAP leader
Prashant Bhushan said, "We will cancel tickets of candidates if we
receive complaints even at the last minute. We would much rather let the
seat go vacant.'' AAP also had to expel Awadh convener Aruna Singh
following complaints of corruption in ticket distribution.
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