Delhi under heavy security ahead of Kejriwal's protest at BJP office over Chandigarh poll rigging

Security beefed up outside the AAP office in Delhi.

Parts of Delhi went under a security tightrope and paramilitary forces were deployed in front of the Aam Aadmi Party office on February 2 ahead of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's planned protest in front of the BJP headquarters against alleged rigging in the recent Chandigarh mayoral polls.

Kejriwal, who skipped the Enforcement Directorate summons for the fifth time on February 2, along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP workers, had planned the protest rally outside the BJP office on Deen Dayal Upadhayay Marg in Delhi.

AAP leaders alleged that barricades were installed at various locations across the national capital to prevent people and party workers from the protest rally. “Heavy barricades put up across Delhi, buses full of AAP volunteers being detained, hundreds of paramilitary forces deployed outside the AAP party office. Why is the BJP so scared of a protest on the Chandigarh mayor elections?” Delhi minister Atishi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Both the parties are headquartered on Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, separated by less than 800 metres.

Read: BJP sweeps Chandigarh mayoral polls; opposition allies AAP, Congress cry foul

AAP councillor Kuldeep Dhalor, who lost the Chandigarh mayoral election, moved the Supreme Court on February 1 against the Punjab and Haryana High Court refusal to grant an immediate stay on the election result. The BJP's Manoj Sonkar won the polls and took over as the mayor.

Dhalor alleged that the presiding officer acted in a 'flimsy' way, backed by video evidence showing that votes were kept in separate baskets for the two candidates, and a separate one for invalid votes that were shuffled, compromising the entire election process.

The Delhi Police also detained many AAP workers from Punjab and Haryana at the Singh border, who were coming to join the protest in Delhi. “Almost 25 workers have been detained, and all of them will be allowed to leave after verification,” the police said.

“We have taken all necessary measures to ensure there is no law and order disturbance on the ground,” DCP Central M Harsha Vardhan said.

Taking to X, Kejriwal wrote: “First, they cheated in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, and now people who wanted to protest peacefully have been detained.”

Another Delhi minister, Saurabh Bhardwaj, said that the two elected chief ministers had planned a peaceful protest, but the "central government's police" are stopping the public and workers. "Why is there so much fear?"

The security situation has led to a significant slowdown in traffic movement across the city.