Delhi: AAP alleges power supply failures, BJP hits back

AAP and BJP clashed over alleged power cuts in Delhi, with Atishi claiming outages while BJP accused her of spreading falsehoods post-election victory.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clashed on Thursday over alleged widespread power cuts in Delhi, with outgoing chief minister Atishi claiming residents were facing hours-long outages. She alleged that power failures had been reported across multiple areas, citing complaints on social media.

Atishi at the press conference on Thursday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Hitting back, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva accused Atishi of spreading falsehoods. “For years, the Kejriwal government, in collusion with discoms, exploited consumers. Now, fearing a BJP government, Atishi is creating panic,” he said.

The latest showdown comes days after the BJP won a majority in the city’s assembly elections.

Power discoms dismissed the instances of power failure reported by Atishi. “These are instances related to routine maintenance practices undertaken during lean power consumption period,” said a discom official, requesting anonymity.

Atishi claimed the situation deteriorated as soon as the AAP government was removed.

“For the past three days different parts of Delhi have been experiencing prolonged power cuts. This is not limited to just one area. If one checks social media, they will see numerous complaints. On February 9, Sainik Enclave faced a four-hour outage. Sunlight Colony 2 had an all-night blackout on February 8. Radheypuri, Vikaspuri KG-2, and Anand Parbat also suffered extended cuts,” she said, adding that over 30 complaints had surfaced online.

When reminded that she remains the outgoing CM, Atishi accused the BJP of taking control immediately after its election victory. “Ministers’ offices were locked, staff access was blocked, and file movements were restricted from February 8. Delhi is already seeing the consequences of BJP rule,” she said.

A resident of Karol Bagh WEA (Western Extension Area), Atul Goyal, said there was a three-hour-long power outage in his area on February 11 between 10am to 1.30pm. “After inquiry we found that it was a scheduled power cut to allow the laying of an electric cable in the area. The power was subsequently restored,” said Goyal, who is also the president of Urja, an umbrella body of resident welfare associations in Delhi.

HT spoke to many residents across the city and most of them said that they have not faced any significant power cut issues recently.

Responding to Atishi’s allegations, the Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, “Atishi and other AAP leaders spread falsehoods and confusion regarding power cuts. The entire city knows that for several years, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, in collusion with private power discoms, has been exploiting people. We have exposed the exploitation of electricity consumers through PPAC and other charges. Now, with the BJP government set to take over, the acting chief minister is conspiring and using fear tactics to force discoms into cooperating with her. According to our information, there is no power outage anywhere in Delhi. The only issue is that, due to the collusion between the acting chief minister and the power discoms, an excessive amount of time is being taken to repair breakdowns here and there.”

Virender Kumar, a resident of Sangam Vihar E block, said there have been no power cuts in his area recently. Residents of Mayur Vihar Phase 3, Vikaspuri, and Dwarka said the same.

However, Raj Tarani, a resident of Janakpuri C 2 block, said there have been a few power cuts in the area. “We had an hour-long power cut today, the second time this week,” he said.