The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday named Shelly Oberoi and Aaley Mohammad Iqbal as the mayoral and deputy mayoral candidates respectively for the April 26 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayoral polls.

The decision to renominate the two incumbents was taken by Chief Minister and AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal, in recognition of their performance in the MCD, the party said in a statement issued on Monday.

The incumbent Mayor Shelly Oberoi filed her nomination for the April 26 mayoral elections at the MCD Civic Centre on Monday.

The nominations took place in the presence of senior Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh, Delhi Education Minister Atishi, and MCD Leader of the House Mukesh Goyal.

Right after her nomination, Aaley Mohammad Iqbal filed his nomination for the post of Deputy Mayor in presence of all the leaders.

Speaking to the media on the occasion, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said: “The BJP has become such a party that can not digest the mandate of the people.”

“BJP practises the politics of horse trading. But the people of Delhi have reposed faith in Arvind Kejriwal and his model of governance by voting the BJP out after 15 years,” he said.

He also expressed confidence that the Aam Aadmi Party would win with a huge majority. Atishi expressed her confidence that both elections would be won with a vast majority in favour of AAP.

“Our Mayor-Deputy Mayor do not sit in AC rooms but work on the ground,” she added, while saying, “They go everywhere, from the garbage mountains to different wards, schools, and hospitals. This has brought agility to the system. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself is personally monitoring the cleanliness and development works of the mountains of garbage.”

She also affirmed that the Delhi government and the MCD would continue to work together under AAP.

AAP’s Mayoral candidate Dr Shelly Oberoi thanked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving her the opportunity. “The people of entire Delhi have given us a huge majority. In such a situation, the people of Delhi have a lot of expectations from us,” said Dr. Oberoi.

She added that the AAP will do its best to live up to the expectations of the people of Delhi in the coming times. “We will work closely with the Delhi government with full honesty and hard work in the coming term.”

Addressing a press conference, senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Singh, said that the decision to nominate Shelly Oberoi and Aaley Mohammad Iqbal for a second term in the MCD, was taken due to their exceptional performance during their time in office.

Singh added that the party is confident that they will secure another resounding win in the elections this time around.

He also emphasised the unprecedented support received by AAP during the MCD election for its vision to make Delhi a clean and prosperous city.

MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi also expressed her gratitude to Chief Minister Kejriwal for nominating her once again as the Mayoral candidate. She pledged to continue with the same level of commitment in the future.

Meanwhile, Singh also accused the BJP of trying to destroy the democracy of the country at every level. Despite this, he said, all the councillors of the AAP stood firmly and voted for their candidates, putting a stop to the BJP’s loot in the MCD for 15 consecutive years.