New Delhi, Mar 22 (PTI) The AAP on Tuesday dubbed the Union Cabinet's nod to a Bill for unification of three municipal corporations of Delhi mere "tactics" to delay the civic polls, but asserted that Delhiites have made up their minds to oust the BJP.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party urged the Delhi State Election Commission not to "buckle" under pressure of the BJP government and to conduct the municipal elections on time as the new civic bodies have to be formed before May 18.

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It also appealed to the BJP to let the poll panel conduct the election and not to run away from it under the excuse of unification of the civic bodies.

The AAP, however, refrained from commenting on the Bill, saying it can give its response on the proposed amendments only after it appears in the public domain.

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Slamming the Centre over the move, AAP's Delhi unit convenor and Environment Minister Gopal Rai alleged that the government brought the Bill to delay the civic polls as the BJP was set to lose the elections.

The BJP should "give up" its efforts to keep the municipal elections on hold as it would not change its fate, he added.

"The longer the BJP delays the election, the more loses it will suffer," Rai told reporters when asked to comment on the move.

According to sources in the government, the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill is likely is be introduced in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament.

Rai said the merger of the three municipal corporations in Delhi would not make "any difference".

"It does not matter whether there is one civic body or three. If there is corruption, there will shortage of funds," he said, adding, "Basically, the MCD needs honest governance. The BJP has remained a failure for the past 15 years."

Senior party leader Durgesh Pathak said the Centre's move to bring the Bill for the merger of the corporations is merely a tactic to delay the civic polls as the BJP is set to lose this time.

"There has been so much corruption (in civic bodies) during their regime. People of Delhi are waiting for a big change.... The BJP should not run away from the elections, using the tactics of unification. Let's face the elections. People of Delhi will decide the future of the MCD," he said in a video message.

Pathak asserted that Delhiites have made up their minds to oust the BJP from the civic bodies and "give their mandate to Arvind Kejriwal this time".

"No matter polls are held today or tomorrow, the AAP will win," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)