'BJP trying to delete AAP voters' names in Delhi': Kejriwal
What's the story
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to remove the names of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters from the electoral roll ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
Addressing a press conference, he alleged that the BJP had filed applications with the Election Commission to delete thousands of voters from constituencies including Shahdara, Janakpuri, and Laxmi Nagar.
In Shahdara alone, 11,018 voter names were targeted for deletion, he claimed.
Election impact
Kejriwal raises concerns over potential election influence
Kejriwal raised alarm that these deletions mostly target AAP supporters, which could affect elections.
He pointed out that the AAP had won the Shahdara seat in 2020 by a margin of nearly 5,000 votes, and deleting around 11,000 voters could affect election fairness.
"75% of their list is troublesome. When we inquired, maximum of these voters turned out to be AAP voters," he said.
Counterclaim
Kejriwal urges EC for transparency, DM refutes claims
The AAP leader also urged the Election Commission to upload all voter deletion applications online for public scrutiny.
He called this a "threat to democracy," claiming it violates citizens' fundamental right to vote.
Responding to Kejriwal's allegations, the Shahdara District Magistrate on social media said that only 494 Form 7 applications for voter deletion had been received since October 29.
"Hence, the claim that 11,018 Form 7 were filed by BJP in the last one month is factually incorrect."
Awaiting response
No official response from BJP or Election Commission
The Delhi Assembly elections are slated for early 2025.
In the last election in 2020, the AAP won 62 out of 70 seats while the BJP bagged eight seats.
Kejriwal has said that the party will go solo in the upcoming Assembly polls after it fought the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi together earlier this year with the Congress.
Both parties failed to win any seats, with the BJP winning all of them.