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Delhi Polls: Godman with assets of ₹9 among five who filed nominations on Day One
New Delhi: A self-proclaimed godman, who declared his assets to be just ₹9 (in hand), was one of the candidates who filed his nomination on Tuesday, to contest the
New Delhi: A self-proclaimed godman, who declared his assets to be just ₹9 (in hand), was one of the candidates who filed his nomination on Tuesday, to contest the Delhi assembly polls on February 8.
A data entry operator and a lab technician were also among the five nominations filed in three assembly constituencies on the Day One of the process.
According to officials of the Delhi chief electoral office (CEO), one nomination each was filed from Burari and Matiala constituencies while a candidate filed three nominations from the New Delhi seat.
A commerce graduate hailing from Karnataka, Ventakeswar Maha Swami Ji alias Deepak, 33, filed nominations from three different parties — Hindustan Janta Party, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — for the New Delhi seat.
As per the affidavit filed by Deepak, he has assets of ₹9, with liabilities amounting to ₹99,999, which is a loan from “Sharad Pawar”.
Claiming to be a “social worker and a man of God”, this time he hopes to get a ticket from the BJP. “I have previously contested 20 elections from six different states,” he said.
The NCP rejected the claim as a ‘publicity stunt’. “It looks like a publicity stunt. Pawar saheb helps people but does not give personal loan to anyone,” Nawab Malik, NCP spokesperson and minority affairs minister in Maharashtra, said.
A senior BJP leader also dismissed the nomination as a gimmick and said his party is yet to finalise the candidates’ list for the assembly election.
Azad Nafe Singh Rajput, 46, has filed his nomination as an independent from Burari. A class 10 pass, Rajput works as a data entry operator.
Besides, 29-year-old Mohinder Singh from Rashtriya Rashtrawadi Party has filed his nomination from Matiala constituency. A lab technician by profession, Singh dropped out of college and has one criminal case pending against him.
Officials said the nomination process started at the offices of the returning officers in 70 Assembly constituencies at 11am and closed at 3pm. The last date to file nominations is January 21. Scrutiny will take place on January 22 and the last date to withdraw nomination is January 24.
