Will introspect and course correct, says Arvind Kejriwal on MCD poll defeat
The Delhi chief minister accepted that AAP made mistakes and added that the need of the hour was action, not excuses.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday admitted that his party made mistakes in the recent Municipal Corporation of Delhi election and added that there was a need to introspect. The Delhi chief minister took to Twitter to say that it is “time to go back to the drawing board”. After a one-on-one session with MLAs, Kejriwal said, “Yes we made mistakes, but we will introspect and course correct. Need is action and not excuses.”
Kejriwal’s latest comments are a sharp departure from his earlier stance of blaming tampered Electronic Voter Machines for his party’s rout. A day after the MCD poll results were declared on April 26, Kejriwal had urged AAP’s newly-elected councillors to be “alert” to corruption around them. “Raise your voice against corruption. They [the BJP] may even try to jail you since the police is with them. But do not be afraid of them. Work with honesty and courage,” he had said.
Kejriwal has also sought a report card from each MLA, according to CNN-News18. The Bharatiya Janata Party swept the civic body election while AAP secured the second position after winning only 48 out of the 272 seats.
Apart from Kejriwal, other members of the party also accepted their defeat and said blaming rigged EVMs was not the way to go about it. Party member Kumar Vishwas said the key issue was “mistrust” and a lack of connect with voters. Party MP from Punjab Bhagwant Mann also told The Times of India that it was time to “start finding faults in the party”.