<p>Mumbai: Although the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a part of the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A. opposition bloc, the party that runs two states of Delhi and Punjab, is contemplating contesting the 36 seats of Mumbai independently during the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls, expected around October. </p><p>Maharashtra has 288 Vidhan Sabha seats of which 36 are in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. </p><p>The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), which are the three big I.N.D.I.A. players, however, has not yet reacted to the development. </p>.Give AAP a chance in Haryana assembly polls, says Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.<p>The decision of the AAP to contest the 36 seats of Mumbai was announced by AAP national executive member and Mumbai party president Preeti Sharma-Menon and AAP Mumbai Working President Ruben Mascarenhas. </p><p>“The AAP will contest all 36 seats in Mumbai. In the rest of Maharashtra, our colleagues and volunteers are galvanized and preparations are in full swing. The AAP is a national party. Under the visionary leadership of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a party that emerged from a people’s movement is today in power in Delhi and Punjab. We have MLAs in Goa and Gujarat and a significant number of MPs in Parliament,” Sharma-Menon said.</p><p>The AAP Mumbai leadership also lashed out at the BJP-led Maha Yuti (NDA) dispensation of Maharashtra. </p><p>“Unemployment and inflation have broken the back of the 'Aam Aadmi'. Agrarian distress and related farmer suicides continue unabated. Once the most industrialized state in India, Maharashtra is no longer the leader in terms of GDP. Taxpayer money is being used as bank guarantees for private cooperatives. Socially disadvantaged groups and the marginalized sections of society are increasingly being subjected to violence and discrimination,” she said. </p><p>“There is no public representation in any of the 27 municipal corporations of Maharashtra including the BMC in Mumbai. Mumbai’s infrastructure is crumbling. Housing remains an unresolved issue. Slums are becoming increasingly unlivable. The builder and contractor mafia have taken over the city. The BJP is an anti-Maharashtra and anti-Mumbai party. The BJP cannot stand Mumbai’s pre-eminence as India’s largest and most cosmopolitan city which is also the country’s financial capital. Mumbai is the engine for India’s economic growth,” added Mascarenhas.</p>
<p>Mumbai: Although the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a part of the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A. opposition bloc, the party that runs two states of Delhi and Punjab, is contemplating contesting the 36 seats of Mumbai independently during the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls, expected around October. </p><p>Maharashtra has 288 Vidhan Sabha seats of which 36 are in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. </p><p>The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), which are the three big I.N.D.I.A. players, however, has not yet reacted to the development. </p>.Give AAP a chance in Haryana assembly polls, says Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.<p>The decision of the AAP to contest the 36 seats of Mumbai was announced by AAP national executive member and Mumbai party president Preeti Sharma-Menon and AAP Mumbai Working President Ruben Mascarenhas. </p><p>“The AAP will contest all 36 seats in Mumbai. In the rest of Maharashtra, our colleagues and volunteers are galvanized and preparations are in full swing. The AAP is a national party. Under the visionary leadership of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a party that emerged from a people’s movement is today in power in Delhi and Punjab. We have MLAs in Goa and Gujarat and a significant number of MPs in Parliament,” Sharma-Menon said.</p><p>The AAP Mumbai leadership also lashed out at the BJP-led Maha Yuti (NDA) dispensation of Maharashtra. </p><p>“Unemployment and inflation have broken the back of the 'Aam Aadmi'. Agrarian distress and related farmer suicides continue unabated. Once the most industrialized state in India, Maharashtra is no longer the leader in terms of GDP. Taxpayer money is being used as bank guarantees for private cooperatives. Socially disadvantaged groups and the marginalized sections of society are increasingly being subjected to violence and discrimination,” she said. </p><p>“There is no public representation in any of the 27 municipal corporations of Maharashtra including the BMC in Mumbai. Mumbai’s infrastructure is crumbling. Housing remains an unresolved issue. Slums are becoming increasingly unlivable. The builder and contractor mafia have taken over the city. The BJP is an anti-Maharashtra and anti-Mumbai party. The BJP cannot stand Mumbai’s pre-eminence as India’s largest and most cosmopolitan city which is also the country’s financial capital. Mumbai is the engine for India’s economic growth,” added Mascarenhas.</p>