Summary:
New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) The AAP candidate Durgesh Pathak and the BJP nominee Rajesh Bhatia launched their poll campaigns with a show of strength and filed their nominations for the Rajinder Nagar by-elections after taking out massive roadshows on Monday.
The Congress candidate Prem Lata also filed her nomination with Monday being the last day for it.
The Election Commission is scheduled to conduct by elections for Rajinder Nagar assembly seat on June 23.
The counting of votes will take place on June 26.
The by-polls for the assembly seat has to be conducted as it fell vacant with AAP MLA Raghav Chadha"s election to Rajya Sabha from Punjab in March.
Leading his roadshow which began from Naraina Vihar Gurdwara in Rajinder Nagar assembly constituency, Pathak along with his party leaders and supporters reached the office of returning officer and filed his nomination.
He was accompanied by AAP Delhi convenor Gopal Rai, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and party MLAs including Atishi, Sanjeev Jha, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Dilip Pandey.
"It"s a fight between the good works done by Arvind Kejriwal and the bad works done by the BJP.
People of Rajinder Nagar are very happy with the work done by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal government and they want the good work to continue," Pathak told reporters after filing his nomination for the by polls.
People of the constituency will ensure Kejriwal"s victory, he added.
Leading a "Vijay Sankalp Juloos" that started from his party"s district office, the BJP candidate Bhatia reached the office of the returning officers and filed his nomination in presence of the state BJP President Adesh Gupta and Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi, amid slogans of BJP Zindabad and Rajesh Bhatia Zindabad, and flashing a victory sign.
Gupta exhuded confidence in Bhatia winning the the by elections, saying enthusiasm among the people of the constituency indicates that the AAP will lose this time.
"The way Raghav Chadha left this constituency people here are still suffering on that account.
Wherever their leaders go for campaigning they are facing the ire of people.
Delhiites are now in anger over acute water crisis.
Even after giving Rs 57,000 crore to Jal board, Kejriwal is unable to give Delhiites clean water," he alleged.
The Delhi BJP chief said the AAP has shown its "insensitivity" towards the people of Rajindfer Nagar constituency by fielding Pathak from the seat as he is an "an outsider".
In a tweet, Bhatia alleged that his posters were torn, and asserted that such acts wouldn"t get him out from the people"s heart.
"The AAP is so scared that it is having its goonda elements to remove BJP posters in the night.