With the Delhi assembly elections just weeks away, the battle for the New Delhi seat slipped from unpleasant rhetoric to ugly accusations, as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) picks for the constituency — Arvind Kejriwal and Parvesh Verma — launched a fresh round of allegations and counter-allegations against each other.
Kejriwal started off the squabble, claiming that Verma is distributing money and goods among voters ahead of the polls.
“The whole world is saying that money and goods are being distributed openly but the Election Commission is saying that they are not getting any evidence and witnesses,” Kejriwal said in a post on X.
He also quoted AAP minister Saurabh Bharadwaj’s post on X, which claimed that “by distributing sarees, BJP has ripped apart the Indian democracy”.
Verma hit back, claiming that the Supreme Court has “disqualified” Kejriwal, pointing to the conditions the top court laid down while granting him bail in the Delhi excise policy case.
“The Supreme Court has already disqualified Kejriwal. Conditions on accused Kejriwal’s bail —Kejriwal cannot go to Delhi Secretariat; if he does, then he will go back to jail. Kejriwal cannot go to the CM’s office; if he does. he will go to jail. Kejriwal cannot sign any government file; if he signs, then he will be sent to jail. Kejriwal cannot meet any officer; if he does, then he will be sent to jail. That means Kejriwal can never become chief minister again,” Verma said.
The AAP and the BJP have engaged in a sustained slugfest over the New Delhi seat since the last week of December. The AAP began by accusing Verma of distributing ₹1,100 to women in the constituency. After the model code of conduct (MCC) was imposed in Delhi on January 7, the allegations only increased, with the AAP alleging that the BJP candidate is also distributing shoes, sarees, and blankets, and also held a job fair.
{{/usCountry}}The AAP and the BJP have engaged in a sustained slugfest over the New Delhi seat since the last week of December. The AAP began by accusing Verma of distributing ₹1,100 to women in the constituency. After the model code of conduct (MCC) was imposed in Delhi on January 7, the allegations only increased, with the AAP alleging that the BJP candidate is also distributing shoes, sarees, and blankets, and also held a job fair.
{{/usCountry}}Delhi Police on Wednesday filed a non-cognizable report after a complaint against Verma for allegedly distributing shoes to voters near the Valmiki temple, Mandir Marg on Wednesday. The complaint, lodged by a returning officer, alleges a violation of the model code of conduct.
Amid the feuds between Kejriwal and Verma, Sandeep Dikshit — the Congress nominee for New Delhi —said the elections are supposed to be on the issues of Delhi and development, but some are distributing freebies and money
“If the campaigning continues like this then why are elections being held?... It makes democracy meaningless,” he said.