New Delhi [India], April 29 (ANI): Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently, on Wednesday criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for not fielding a candidate in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Mayoral elections held today, saying that they must retain their faith in democracy even when they know they will lose.

Taking potshots at Arvind Kejriwal, she alleged that AAP's decision not to field a candidate raises questions about its commitment to democratic processes.

'Arvind Kejriwal has not fielded any candidate of his own. What kind of politics is this? They should have faith in democracy. They know they will lose the election, but they should still contest it,' Maliwal told ANI.

She said that MCD plays a crucial role in the development of the national capital and stressed the need for coordination between civic and state authorities.

'MCD is very crucial for Delhi's development. As long as the AAP government was in power in Delhi, they had left it in a terrible state. Now, MCD and the Delhi government need to work together,' Maliwal said.

The BJP fielded Pravesh Wahi from Rohini East, Ward No. 53, as its mayoral candidate, who has been elected as the Mayor, as declared by the MCD on X in its congratulatory post.

Monika Pant, BJP corporator from Anand Vihar, has been elected unopposed as the Deputy Mayor of Delhi.

Raja Iqbal Singh of the BJP is the outgoing MCD Mayor. Earlier, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Taranjit Singh Sandhu appointed Singh as the presiding officer for the MCD poll concluded today.

Earlier, Maliwal slammed Kejriwal, accusing him of spreading mismanagement and corruption in the past 10 years. She also acknowledged the developmental work in the national capital under the leadership of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta following the formation of the BJP government in 2025.

Maliwal joined the BJP in the presence of Delhi BJP president Virendraa Sachdeva a day before the MCD election. This comes days after Raghav Chadha, along with two others, including Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak, joined the BJP in the presence of the party's chief Nitin Nabin.

Maliwal is among the seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs who merged with the BJP recently. The others include Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, Harbhajan Singh, and Rajinder Gupta. (ANI)