Kejriwal accuses BJP of manipulating electoral roll: 'Operation Lotus has begun in New Delhi constituency'

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has accused the BJP of manipulation electoral roll. (Image: PTI)

Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday tore into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and accused it of trying to manipulate voter list in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections.

While addressing a press conference, the AAP chief said, "BJP has already lost the elections. They don't have a chief ministerial face or even proper candidates. They only aim to win through manipulation, but we won't let them succeed."

The former CM claimed that the BJP has been tampering with voter lists as part of a covert operation dubbed "Operation Lotus," which he alleged has been orchestrated since December 15.

"...In my New Delhi assembly constituency - their (BJP) 'operation Lotus' has been going on since December 15. In these 15 days, they have filed application for the deletion of 5,000 votes and the addition of 7,500 votes... Why there is a need to conduct elections if you are manipulating approximately 12% of total voters in the assembly? A kind of 'game' is being going on in the name of election," Kejriwal alleged, ANI reported.

#WATCH | Delhi | AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal says, "...In my New Delhi assembly constituency - their (BJP) 'operation Lotus' has been going on since December 15. In these 15 days, they have filed application for the deletion of 5,000 votes and the addition of 7,500 pic.twitter.com/3SFHWlDmEw

ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2024

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He claimed this could alter 12 per cent of the constituency's votes.

He also alleged that the BJP had filed 11,000 voter deletion applications in one constituency alone, but the move was halted at Chief Election Commissioner's intervention. "We exposed this, and thankfully, it was stopped."

"Operation Lotus has now reached my constituency. They are attempting to manipulate the electoral rolls to change the election outcome. This kind of manipulation undermines democracy. We appeal to the Election Commission to continue its strict monitoring to prevent such malpractice," Kejriwal added.

Speaking at the press conference alongside Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, Kejriwal claimed the BJP was trying to win elections through "unfair means" after failing to present strong candidates or issues.

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The total number of voters in the constituency, Kejriwal said, is 106,873, as per the voter list published on October 29 after the summary revision, which was conducted between August 20 and October 20.

Arvind Kejriwal is set to contest the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections from the New Delhi Assembly constituency. Kejriwal's latest remarks against BJP follow earlier accusations made by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who accused BJP leaders of bribing voters in the New Delhi constituency. Atishi alleged that BJP’s Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, a former Member of Parliament from West Delhi, was caught distributing money at his official residence in an effort to influence voters.

In response to the bribery allegations, a criminal complaint has been filed against Verma at the Barakhamba Police station in New Delhi. The complaint accuses the former Lok Sabha MP of offering bribes to voters to sway the outcome of the election.

Assembly polls in Delhi are expected to be held in February 2025. In the 2020 elections, AAP won 62 of the 70 seats, while the BJP secured eight.