Delhi polls round the corner, AAP vs BJP as Kejriwal claims electoral rolls manipulation

Addressing a press conference with Chief Minister Atishi and AAP MP Raghav Chadha, Kejriwal dubbed the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls as BJP’s ‘Operation Lotus’ in action.

“The BJP is trying to win this election by any means. It does not have any CM face or candidates. Last time, they tried to remove the names of 11,000 voters from another constituency, from where we won the polls by 5,000 votes. If they had been successful, we would have lost the election. Staff at the election offices even started working on the deletion but due to the intervention of the Chief Election Commissioner, this was stopped,” he claimed.

The former CM further alleged that the BJP “started ‘Operation Lotus’ from October 15 and in the last 15 days, it submitted applications for deleting nearly 5,000 voters and for addition of 7,500 names”.

“This is a clear manipulation of almost 12% of votes. What is the need for elections if such kind of activity is going on? They did this in Haryana and Maharashtra but we will not let them do this in Delhi,” Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal has also written to the New Delhi district election officer, seeking details of individuals (objectors) who have submitted more than five applications for deleting names since October 29. Kejriwal added that between August 20 and October 20, a summary revision was conducted in Delhi and 1,06,873 voters were recorded in the New Delhi constituency as per the revised list on October 29.

Reacting to Kejriwal’s comments, Verma, a former BJP MP, said the claims were “baseless”.

“Kejriwal’s repeated theatrics are nothing new. His baseless allegations about ‘Operation Lotus’ are a clear indication of his insecurity and fear of losing public support. Filing applications for voter addition or deletion is a routine process in any democracy, and to paint this as a conspiracy is laughable… If Mr Kejriwal is so sure of voter manipulation, why hasn’t he submitted concrete evidence to the Election Commission or courts? His press conferences are merely a stage for sensationalism, not accountability,” he said.

Verma further alleged the former CM of Delhi was attempting to divert attention from his government’s poor performance, citing issues like the mismanagement of public funds, deteriorating infrastructure, and “unfulfilled promises” related to schools, hospitals, and employment.

“Kejriwal’s claim of 12% voter manipulation is not just an insult to the BJP but to the integrity of democratic institutions like the Election Commission… The BJP believes in democracy and respects the people’s mandate. We don’t need to manipulate voters. AAP’s track record of mismanagement and corruption is enough to convince the public to reject them,” Verma said.