AAP leader Somnath Bharti on Saturday approached the Delhi High Court against the victory of BJP's Bansuri Swaraj from the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, claiming that she won due to ‘corrupt practices.’
Bharti was the joint candidate of the AAP-Congress alliance under which the parties contested four and three seats respectively in the national capital. However, the BJP won all seven seats for the third consecutive time.
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“The present election petition is filed by the petitioner under Sections 80 and 81 of the Representation of People Act challenging the election of the respondent no.1 (Swaraj) on the grounds of ‘corrupt practices’ indulged into by the respondent no.1, her election agent, and other persons with the consent of the person during the course of the election on May 25,” the plea stated.
“On the voting day, the petitioner during his visits to various booths of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency, was ‘shocked’ to see that booth agents of the respondent no. 1 had her pamphlets displaying her ballot number, photo, election symbol, and photo of prime minister Narendra Modi. These were showing the same to voters…such an act certainly qualifies to be a corrupt practice. This was also reported to the respondent no. 3 (returning officer) but all in vain,” it mentioned.
{{/usCountry}}“On the voting day, the petitioner during his visits to various booths of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency, was ‘shocked’ to see that booth agents of the respondent no. 1 had her pamphlets displaying her ballot number, photo, election symbol, and photo of prime minister Narendra Modi. These were showing the same to voters…such an act certainly qualifies to be a corrupt practice. This was also reported to the respondent no. 3 (returning officer) but all in vain,” it mentioned.
{{/usCountry}}Justice Manmeet PS Arora will take up the matter on Monday.
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Delhi voted in the sixth leg of the national polls, the second-last phase of the exercise. In her electoral debut, Swaraj, a lawyer by profession and daughter of late BJP stalwart and ex-Union minister Sushma Swaraj, secured 453,185 votes, while Bharti, also a lawyer, got 374,815 votes, according to the Election Commission's data.
BSP nominee Raaj Kumar Anand, who resigned from the AAP in April accusing it of ‘corruption,’ came third with 5629 votes.
Anand, alleged Bharti in the plea, was ‘set up’ by the BJP to help Swaraj against the Aam Aadmi Party member, and helped her by ‘cutting into the vote share.’
Raaj Kumar Anand joined the BJP on July 10.
(With PTI inputs)