New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 23, Wednesday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the “postponement” of municipal elections, saying the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will quit politics if the saffron party gets these polls conducted timely and wins them.His remarks came after the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Bill to unify the three civic bodies – North, East and South – in Delhi.“We (the AAP) will leave politics if BJP gets the MCD polls held (timely) and wins them,” Kejriwal told reporters outside the Delhi Assembly.He added, “The BJP says it is the biggest political party in the world but it got scared by a small party and a small election. I dare the BJP for timely MCD polls.”Later, Kejriwal took to Twitter and said, “Postponement of Delhi Municipal Corporation elections by BJP is an insult to the martyrs who had made sacrifices to establish democracy in the country by driving the British out of the country. Today they are postponing the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections due to fear of defeat, tomorrow they will postpone the elections of the states and the country.”भाजपा का दिल्ली नगर निगम के चुनाव टालना शहीदों का अपमान है जिन्होंने अंग्रेजों को देश से भगाकर देश में जनतंत्र स्थापित करने के लिए कुरबानियाँ दीं थीं। आज ये हार के डर से दिल्ली नगर निगम के चुनाव टाल रहे हैं, कल ये राज्यों और देश के चुनाव टाल देंगे। https://t.co/QHhAE1nV4Y— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 23, 2022Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said that the trifurcation had weakened the financial health of the existing civic bodies in the city and unification will help in making the corporation financially stable.Also read: AAP Accuses BJP of Coercing EC to Delay Delhi Municipal PollsUnification of civic bodies will strengthen the corporation and ensure better development in Delhi. The Delhi government was not clearing dues of the civic bodies as it had to pay dues of over Rs 13,000 to corporations.“Unification of MCDs will also help in better development works and timely disbursal of salaries of employees,” Gupta said.He also said that many other reforms such as the tenure of the mayor are to be done that will be addressed in the Bill.He said that the AAP is opposing the move because it will strengthen the corporation.“In the last seven years every day they worked to weaken civic bodies. The Union government’s move will prove to be very beneficial for Delhi residents and the civic body. The Modi government always works for the betterment of the people,” Gupta added.Delhi BJP MP and former state unit chief Manoj Tiwari also welcomed the move and said that after the unification, funds would be disbursed directly to the MCD.“I had promised when I was Delhi BJP president that I will make efforts to get funds directly from the Union government after getting civic bodies unified,” Tiwari said in a statement in Hindi.The AAP slammed the Union Cabinet’s nod to the Bill as a “tactic to delay”‘ civic polls and asserted that “it will not make any difference in the poll prospects as the Delhiites have made up their mind to oust the BJP from power in the city”‘.AAP’s Delhi unit convenor and environment minister Gopal Rai alleged that the Union government has brought the Bill as the BJP was set to lose in the election.The BJP should “give up” its efforts to keep municipal elections on hold as it would not change its fate, he added.Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken said that the unification of municipalities will help improve its financial position.General consensus is that along with being administratively beneficial, the unification of the Municipal Corporations will improve its financial position, he said, but added that the Union government should have brought this Bill at least six months earlier to prevent any delay in elections.He also blamed the Delhi government for the poor financial condition of civic bodies.“Delhi’s AAP government cannot escape any blame, as they had financially starved the municipal corporations for political reasons. The Union and the state government should not enter into a new blame game and ensure holding of MCD elections as soon as possible,” Maken said in a series of tweets.3) Delhi's AAP Government cannot escape any blame, as they had financially starved the Municipal Corporations for political reasons.4) The Union and State Government should not enter into a new blame game and ensure holding of MCD elections as soon as possible.3/3— Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) March 22, 2022Delhi Congress President, Chaudhary Anil Kumar, said that the merger of civic bodies is a scripted move by the BJP and the AAP to postpone the MCD elections. He also said that the MCDs required funds and not the merger.He said that if the merger of the MCDs could improve things, then the New Delhi Municipal Council should also be merged with the corporations for better governance of Delhi.(PTI)This story, which was published on March 23 at 12:58 pm, is being republished with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statement on the upcoming civic polls.