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It is election season in Delhi and the ruling AAP and the Opposition BJP are trading barbs and sharp political attacks. The latest flashpoint in this capital contest is the alleged addition and deletion of names in the voters' list. While the AAP alleges that the BJP is getting voters' names struck off the list in a desperate attempt to win the election, the BJP has accused the ruling party of getting fake voters' names added to the list to bolster its support.
Addressing the media, AAP's national convener and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP has neither vision nor candidates for the Delhi election. "BJP wants to win this election somehow by using dishonest means. But the people of Delhi won't let this happen. We won't let them win by using the tactics they are said to have used in Maharashtra and Haryana," he said.
Mr Kejriwal said the BJP had officially sought the removal of names of over 11,000 votes in Shahdara Assembly segment. "We won the Assembly seat last time by a margin of 5,000 votes. If these 11,000 names were struck off, there would be no chance for a win this time. But they were caught red-handed and those names were not deleted. We are thankful to the Chief Election Officer for stopping this."
Mr Kejriwal alleged that the BJP had launched "Operation Lotus" in New Delhi constituency that he represents. "In 15 days, they have put in applications to delete names of 5,000 voters and also applied for the addition of 7,500 names to the voter list. The total votes in my constituency 1 lakh 6 thousand. What is the point of holding an election then? A game is playing out in the name of election."
The AAP leader said a summary revision was carried out earlier and the Election Commission released a revised voter list on October 29. "If there is a 12 per cent difference as the BJP claims, was the poll body's summary revision wrong?"
Mr Kejriwal said about 10 people had filed most of these deletion applications. "Who are these people? whose orders are they working on? Are they doing social work through door-to-door verification?"
"We verified these applications and found that 408 out of the 500 names they had sought deletion for are living at their homes for 20-30 years. This means the names of bonafide voters are being deleted. They are depriving people of their citizenship," he said.
Mr Kejriwal alleged that the BJP plans to get people from outside and register them as Delhi voters.
"I want to tell the officers, you will be pressured to commit wrong acts but remember, you will sign the papers and these signatures will stay. Today or tomorrow, the government will change, but the files and signatures will stay. Work as per law, you will be in trouble. The ones who are giving the orders would escape," he said.
Mr Kejriwal said the BJP was trying every possible trick because it is set to lose the Delhi polls. "They have started using three tactics from December 15: first is to get AAP voters' names struck off, the second is adding fake voters and the third is distributing cash to buy votes."
The AAP leader appealed to voters in Delhi to keep checking their names on voter lists. He has also written to the poll body in this connection.
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal writes a letter to the District Electoral officer, New Delhi
"I am writing to bring to your immediate attention a significant rise in the number of voter addition and deletion applications received in the New Delhi Assembly Constituency over… pic.twitter.com/eG4skPZIkO
— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2024
State BJP chief Virendraa Sachdeva, on the other hand, said the number of voters in Delhi saw a huge jump between the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the Assembly election next year. The same, he said, was observed after the 2019 general election. "Who got these new voters? There are no answers. They are trying to play the same game this time. BJP is saying those who don't live in Delhi anymore, those who have died, why should their names be on the list?"
Delhi: BJP State President Virendra Sachdeva says, "The Aam Aadmi Party government and Arvind Kejriwal are involved in making illegal votes in Delhi. We have consistently provided evidence of this, and the Election Commission has also arrested four individuals who were involved… pic.twitter.com/q1v6aFgYoY
— IANS (@ians_india) December 29, 2024
The BJP leader alleged that fake documents were being used to get fake voters' names on the list. "I am accusing Arvind Kejriwal, this is your conspiracy to win the election. We can understand people aged 18-20 years are registering as voters. But see the ages of the new voters, Nawabuddin, aged 66. Where was he all this time? Not a single voter is in the 18-23 years age group. And when we are asking for a probe, Arvind Kejriwal is getting agitated. This is Delhi's reality, to win an election, he will do everything, put Delhi's safety at risk, put national security at risk. This is happening on Arvind Kejriwal's instructions. Fraud voting is the murder of democracy. We demand that all the people who have registered as new voters fraudulently must face a police case. Also, officials who have covered their eyes with notes must face cases," Mr Sachdeva said.