AAP accuses BJP of suppressing voters ahead of Delhi elections |

New Delhi: An Aam Aadmi Party delegation led by Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday met Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar to respond to allegations of mass deletions from the electoral roll ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections.
The party’s national in-charge, following the meeting, alleged that the BJP was orchestrating a conspiracy to delist voters, mainly from marginalized communities, including Dalits, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Purvanchalis.
“We have submitted 3,000 pages of evidence showing how the BJP is conspiring to suppress voter names on a large scale,” Kejriwal said.
He said the EC had provided several assurances. He said the poll panel had assured the AAP it would not carry out large-scale deletions without proper verification. The former chief minister also mentioned that in case of voter suppression, a ground investigation would be conducted by the polling station officer (BLO), accompanied by representatives of various political parties.
Kejriwal said if a person seeks deletion of more than five names of voters, the sub-divisional magistrate will conduct a field inquiry. The EC also assured the AAP of strict action against those filing questionable removal applications, including FIRs, he said. The delegation included Chief Minister Atishi, Rajya Sabha members Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha, and party leader Jasmine Shah.
The former CM also wrote to CEC Kumar, demanding “stop further deletion of electoral roll” in the national capital. He said his party had selected a sample of 500 names from the 11,000 allegedly submitted by the BJP for deletion. The AAP found 372 people still living at the same address listed on the electoral roll, he said.
Alleged voter suppression has become a contentious issue in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February next year. The AAP, which is seeking a third consecutive term, has accused the BJP of trying to manipulate the electoral rolls to influence the polls.
In response, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said Kejriwal’s current state resembles that of a desperate commander who knows he is losing the battle and is simply looking for excuses to cover up his defeat. He said Kejriwal’s visit to the Election Commission is a clear sign of his panic.
“Whether it is the citizens of Delhi or the BJP workers, everyone is actively working to weed out fake voters from their respective areas. Whenever people find information about votes cast by Rohingyas, Bangladeshis or other infiltrators, they themselves file objections to have those votes deleted. ” he said. The BJP strongly asserts that it only raises objections to votes cast by infiltrators, or by those registered under false addresses or against the names of dead people. The panic displayed by Kejriwal and the ‘AAP makes it clear that these illegal votes were the basis of their political power, he added.
Sachdeva further pointed out that no matter how much noise Kejriwal and AAP make, the BJP will persist in its campaign against illegal voters.