On Sunday, Haseeb ul Hasan, a former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor in East Delhi Municipal Corporation, climbed to the top of an electricity transmission tower in Shastri Park, saying that party executives have seized his documents. It is said that he was denied a ticket for the forthcoming Delhi municipal body elections, and as a result, he vowed to kill himself and climbed the tower.
Hasan alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party sold the ticket to Deepu Chaudhary for Rs 3 crores and then wanted money from him. Since he could not afford to pay the amount, he was denied a ticket.
He said, “Aam Aadmi Party’s Durgesh Pathak and Atishi will be responsible if something happens to me, or if I die. They have my original documents, including my bank passbook. Tomorrow is the last day for filing nominations but they are not giving my documents to me.”
Police officers, firefighters, and BSES officials, as well as ambulances, arrived at the scene and asked Hasan to come down. At 10:51 AM, fire personnel received word that someone had climbed an electricity tower in the Gandhi Nagar area.
Around 3 PM, Hasan came down, claiming that AAP leaders had returned his documents due to media pressure. “Durgesh Pathak, Atishi, and Sanjay Singh would not have returned my papers if the media had not come. I will file my nomination tomorrow,” Hasan said. When questioned if he would run as an independent candidate, Hasan replied he wasn’t sure.
Haseeb ul Hasan had earlier jumped into an overflowing sewer drain at Shastri Park in March this year. Speaking to reporters, the nominated AAP councillor stated that the drain had been overflowing for some time and that, despite numerous complaints, the local MLA had failed to resolve the situation. As a result, Hasan chose to shoulder the load and demonstrate his point. His followers afterwards bathed him in milk while chanting anti-BJP slogans around him.
The AAP released its initial list of candidates on Friday, followed by a second list of 117 candidates the following day. The 250-ward MCD heads to the polls on December 4, and the ballots will be counted on December 7.