Kejriwal’s negative campaign cost AAP the polls, says BJP

Gautam Gambhir said that elections will come and go, but one shouldn’t “lose one’s conscience”.

Former cricketer and BJP’s new East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir on Saturday targeted Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for running a negative campaign against him in the recent Lok Sabha elections. He said that elections will come and go, but one shouldn’t “lose one’s conscience”.

Former cricketer and BJP’s new East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir on Saturday targeted Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for running a negative campaign against him in the recent Lok Sabha elections. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its East Delhi candidate Atishi had alleged that Gambhir and the BJP were response for distributing “obscene and derogatory pamphlets against Atishi” during the elections. Atishi, who stood third in the Lok Sabha polls, had filed a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women in this regard.

Training his guns at Kejriwal, Gambhir said, “They had leveled such malicious allegations against me just to win the elections on one seat. I want to say this to Arvind Kejriwal, you can lose an election and move ahead but how can one face himself after losing his conscience.”

Gambhir comments came at a press conference addressed by all newly elected Delhi MPs. Sitting MP from Chandni Chowk Harsh Vardhan, who defeated Congress’ JP Aggarwal in the elections, said that the AAP and the Congress together couldn’t poll votes at par with the BJP. “They were trying to forge an alliance before the elections. But the results have shown that both the parties put together couldn’t match the mandate people have given all our seven candidates,” said Harsh Vardhan.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj, however, said, “We offer our best wishes to all seven BJP MPs and expect them to work on Delhi Police, DDA and MCD. All of these departments are directly under the Centre and a lot needs to be done in them. Gautam Gambhir was cheating public using his duplicate to campaign in hot afternoon while he was sitting inside an AC car. Public will forgive him if he himself meets people on dusty and sunny roads of Delhi.”

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, who defeated Congress candidate Sheila Dikshit, said that he was a little scared when the Congress fielded three-time Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit. “She is a big leader and I was a little scared. But I have fought this election to work for the people of North East Delhi. Now, we are focusing on winning the Delhi assembly,” said Tiwari.

Earlier in the day, Tiwari met Dikshit at her residence to seek her blessing. “It was just an informal meeting. The people of North East Delhi have placed their faith on Tiwari ji and I told him of a few problems that the people had apprised us of and requested him to look into those issues, now that he is their elected representative,” said Sheila Dikshit, Delhi Congress chief.

Saturday’s press meet saw the presence of Punjabi singer Hans Raj Hans, who won North West Delhi seat for the BJP, Union minister Vijay Goel, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta and office bearers of Delhi BJP.