Once a die-hard follower of Arvind Kejriwal, Mahmood Ahmed has now threatened to burn an effigy of Kejriwal in Batla House after resigning from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over being denied a ticket.
In a recent social media post, he wrote: “I will burn the effigy of Arvind Kejriwal in Batla House soon for giving a ticket to Naresh Yadav from Delhi’s Mehrauli constituency, who desecrated the Quran.”
Mahmood, who lost the race for an AAP MLA ticket to Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan ahead of the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, is deeply upset. On Monday, he resigned from the party, accusing Kejriwal and AAP of being anti-Muslim. Although Mahmood has not yet revealed which party he plans to join, he appears to be using the situation to raise his profile.
The controversy surrounding Naresh Yadav is gaining momentum, with BJP Okhla deciding to stage a protest over the issue.
The BJP is also using it to corner Kejriwal, with some political observers suggesting it could become a significant issue in coming days.
“Kejriwal could have acted against the MLA by denying him a ticket. This will become a major issue in the coming days as political parties, including the BJP, will exploit it. The goal is to portray Kejriwal as anti-Muslim, which could impact his support base. If the Muslim vote is divided, the BJP stands to benefit,” said Javed, a political observer.
Naresh Yadav, the AAP MLA from Mehrauli, was sentenced to two years in prison by a Malerkotla court in connection with the 2016 Quran desecration case, according to an Indian Express report. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 11,000. The case arose after torn pages of the Quran were found scattered on a road in Malerkotla, Punjab.
SAD leader Daljeet Singh Cheema had welcomed the verdict then and said: “This judgment exposes the deep-rooted conspiracy behind the sacrilege of religious scriptures in Punjab and reveals the true face of AAP. It proves our claim that these incidents were part of a deliberate effort to create unrest and gain political advantage.”
Cheema also criticised AAP leaders, including Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, for defending Yadav despite the allegations. “Now, Kejriwal must explain why his party MLA was involved in such a heinous crime,” he wrote on social media.
In early December, hundreds of BJP workers, including members of the party’s Minority Morcha, protested near Kejriwal’s residence on Ashoka Road. The protest called for action against AAP MLA Naresh Yadav, who was convicted in the controversial Quran desecration case.
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva told India Today TV then: “Muslims in Delhi are asking why Kejriwal is shielding Yadav despite his conviction. Why hasn’t he been expelled from the party or removed from the Vidhan Sabha?”
BJP leader Atif Rasheed also issued a statement highlighting that Delhi Minority Front President Anees Abbasi, along with State President Virender Sachdeva and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijender Gupta, had participated in a protest at Kejriwal’s residence, demanding Yadav’s dismissal and an apology from Kejriwal.
