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Lok Sabha elections 2019: AAP’s objections to Gautam Gambhir, Bidhuri’s nominations rejected
AAP members were supported by the Congress in East Delhi, when they registered objections to Gambhir’s nomination on Wednesday.
The election commission rejected the objections raised by the Aam Admi Party against the nominations of BJP candidates from East Delhi, Gautam Gambhir, and South Delhi Ramesh Bidhuri.
AAP members were supported by the Congress in East Delhi, when they registered objections to Gambhir’s nomination on Wednesday.
“There were numerous errors in Gambhir’s affidavit. The Congress also joined us in challenging Gambhir’s nomination. Arvinder Singh Lovely (Congress candidate from East Delhi) personally intervened in the matter,” said an AAP leader, who wished not to be named.
Election commission officials said AAP candidate Atishi cited differences in dates mentioned in Gambhir’s nomination papers. She said the date of the notary stamp was different from the date mentioned in the court papers on which the affidavits are filed. This objection was, however, rejected by the returning officer K Mahesh. “The affidavits filed by the candidate (Gambhir) are found substantially compliant in law and the nominations are accepted,” said Mahesh.
Lovely said he intervened only when he found that the election officers were cancelling nominations that failed to pass the scrutiny immediately but when it came to Gambhir, he was given a “special treatment” and was called for a hearing.
“Such extra time could have given the BJP a scope to manipulate documents,” he said, adding: “The AAP is our political opponent in Delhi and they will be so. But this was a matter of taking a stand for what is right.”
The BJP alleged that the AAP and Congress joined hands against it. “The AAP and the Congress raised objections just for the sake of raising them. The two parties worked as one team on Wednesday while raising objections against the BJP candidate in East Delhi,” said Rajiv Babbar, constituency in-charge and Delhi BJP vice-president.
In South Delhi constituency, AAP’s Raghav Chadha claimed that his BJP rival Bidhuri didn’t mention in his affidavit a criminal case pending against him, which was registered at Bihar’s Muzaffarpur in 2018.
Chadha also alleged that Bidhuri has under-declared his income, his spouse’s income and the income of a dependant for the financial year 2013-14 and he had not mentioned about an LIC policy for which the BJP MP pays half-yearly premium of ₹2,829.
Bidhuri, however, said he received a clearance from the election office around 6pm but was yet to receive a copy of the formal order till the time this report was filed.
Bidhuri said, “As far as the allegations on declaring income are concerned, it seems Raghav Chadha was confused. He did not read the break-up in my affidavit clearly. About the police case, I never received any phone call from any police station or any court summon till date. I came to know about its existence, if it exists at all, during scrutiny today.”
Chadha said he will move the high court against the “wrongful acceptance” of Bidhuri’s nomination papers.
After scrutiny, papers of only 173 of the total 347 candidates were found valid. Many more are likely to withdraw their names till April 26, last date of withdrawal.
