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AAP, BJP indulge in blame game; level fake voting, money distribution charges

Delhi polls

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NEW DELHI, Feb 5: The Aam Aadmi Party and BJP indulged in intense blame game with both sides alleging voting malpractices in different constituencies as polling for 70 Assembly seats in Delhi progressed on Wednesday.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi told PTI around noon that the polling process was going on “smoothly”. A few EVMs were replaced during mock polls and actual voting also, the CEO said.

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“We have a sufficient number of reserve EVMs. A strong technical team along with sector officers are sorting out EVM-related issues then and there,” she said.

High drama unfolded in Seelampur when a BJP leader alleged that some people wearing burqas were attempting fraudulent voting. However, police denied any fake voting in the area. In Kasturba Nagar, police sources said two men allegedly attempted to vote fraudulently. They have been apprehended and were being interrogated, they said.

Following allegations of fake voting by the BJP in Seelampur, AAP workers resorted to slogan shouting. The Delhi Police, however, dismissed the charges, pointing to security deployed in the area. Additional police and paramilitary forces were also deployed, they said.

Seelampur resident Safdar Ali told PTI that BJP candidate Anil Gaur alleged that people were indulging in fraudulent voting.

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“We asked him how was that possible when there are several layers of checking. The officials are checking voter ID cards of everyone and allowing only valid voters inside the polling booth. Later, he left the area and the situation is now normal,” he said.

Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia alleged that money was being distributed from a house in Jangpura and shared a video of the purported act on X.

Allegations of voter bribery in Sarai Kale Khan were promptly investigated, said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Ankit Chauhan in a post on X. The officer also said that police along with an executive magistrate and a flying squad team thoroughly verified the complaint and no evidence was found to substantiate the charges.

AAP candidate from Greater Kailash Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed police had barricaded the Chirag Dilli area, preventing people from voting. He shared a video on X showing a woman sitting alone in an autorickshaw near a barricade, alleging that the obstruction was deliberately placed to prevent access to the polling station.

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DCP Chauhan said only the elderly and those who cannot walk were allowed to go to polling booth in vehicles but others were stopped outside the Election Commission-mandated 200-metre radius.

The Delhi BJP, in a post on X, alleged that AAP workers torched the shanty of a party worker at Kalandar Colony in Shahdara constituency.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed that the AAP has stooped to “fake voting” as it was rattled by its “imminent defeat”. He urged people to be wary of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party’s “manipulations”.

New Delhi district election office said in a post on X that some alleged instances of relievers of polling agents not being allowed inside polling booths were reported by political parties.

“However, on-ground verification revealed that polling agents inside were unwilling to come out, which prevented relievers from being accommodated. Sector officers and presiding officers have been sensitized to ensure the smooth relieving of polling agents,” it said.

The BJP’s New Delhi seat candidate Parvesh Verma took to X to accuse Sisodia of resorting to “hooliganism” as he shared a video purportedly showing the AAP leader angrily demanding action against BJP workers. Scared of defeat, AAP leaders are now showing “pettiness”, he charged.

In Kasturba Nagar, police received information that two men allegedly attempted fake voting at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in the Andrews Ganj area. They were caught by the Delhi Police and were being interrogated, police sources said.

Police received another PCR call from a woman who alleged that someone had cast a vote in her name at a polling booth in the Aryan Public School of Jafrabad under the Seelampur Assembly segment. Police, however, found out that another woman with a similar name, who lived in the complainant’s house as a tenant, had cast the vote.

After verification, the presiding officer allowed both of them to vote, police said. (PTI)

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