Arvind Kejriwal asks EC to bar Parvesh Verma from contesting Delhi elections: ‘Raid his house…’

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) delegation, led by former chief minister and party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, on Thursday met senior officials of the Election Commission over their ‘concerns’ regarding the alleged irregularities taking place ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls.

“Our main issues were that 5,500 votes are ready to be removed in New Delhi Assembly constituency between December 15 and January 7. Total votes are 1 lakh, and 5.5 per cent have been listed to be removed in 22 days. All those, on whose names applications were filed to remove their votes, said that they never filed any such application. This means there is a big fraud going on,” Kejriwal told reporters after meeting EC officials.

The AAP chief also alleged that from December 15 to January 8, about 13,000 new voter applications were received in the constituency. “They are bringing people from UP and Bihar to create fake votes,” he stated.

Kejriwal also lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, particularly targeting BJP candidate Parvesh Verma, accusing him of distributing money. He also raised objections against health camps and job fairs announced by the BJP.

“Parvesh Verma should be debarred from contesting elections, his residence should be raided to find out how much money he has,” said Kejriwal.

Kejriwal, the sitting MLA from New Delhi since 2013, finds himself in a high-stakes triangular battle this time. His rivals include Parvesh Verma, representing the BJP and son of ex-chief minister Sahib Singh Verma, and Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit, whose mother, Sheila Dikshit, served as Delhi’s chief minister for three consecutive terms.

AAP, which has secured two consecutive in the Delhi Assembly polls, has accused BJP of filing applications in bulk from different constituencies, including New Delhi, for the deletion of thousands of AAP supporters' names from the electoral roll.

The 70-member Delhi Assembly will go to polls on February 5. The results will be out on February 8.

(With agency inputs)