Delhi assembly dissolved, parties prepare for polls

With the dissolution of the Delhi assembly Wednesday, all three major parties in the national capital - the BJP, Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress - have started gearing up for fresh polls scheduled to take place soon.

While the election management committee as well as the media cell of the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a meeting to discuss poll preparations, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) began printing posters for campaigning.

"We discussed all issues related to the successful management of the upcoming Delhi (assembly) election and also took note of the shortcomings in the last election (December 2013)," a BJP leader said.

BJP's Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhyay, six of the seven Lok Sabha members from Delhi along with some legislators and office bearers attended the meeting. BJP's Delhi in-charge Prabhat Jha was also present.

After the meeting, Upadhyay told the media: "We have sought feedback and inputs on how to improve our performance in the upcoming polls from all those present in the meeting. We will leave no stone unturned to win."

The AAP has started printing posters boasting of the work it did in the 49 days when it was in power in Delhi and vowed to take on the BJP and defeat it comprehensively.

"We are ready to take on the BJP. The people will choose the AAP and we are confident of getting a majority," an AAP leader said.

The Congress too attacked the BJP and said it would teach a "bitter lesson" to the party.

"The Congress would teach a bitter lesson to the communal BJP. Congress party leaders and workers have been fighting for delivering justice to the people of Delhi," Delhi Congress leader Mukesh Sharma said in a statement.

The union cabinet Tuesday recommended the dissolution of the 70-member Delhi assembly where no political party had enough numbers to form a stable government.

The Election Commission also cancelled by-elections in three assembly constituencies -- Mehrauli, Tughlakabad and Krishna Nagar -- which were scheduled to vote Nov 25.

BJP legislators from these three constituencies were elected to the Lok Sabha in May.

Delhi has been under President's rule since Feb 17 following the resignation of then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who headed a minority AAP government for 49 days.

The December 2013 assembly elections in Delhi threw up a fractured mandate.