Hyderabad: Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Atishi was accused by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Rachna Reddy on Tuesday of inappropriate behavior after she allegedly called the District Election Officer (DEO) to her official residence without a clear agenda in order to obtain the personal information of electoral roll objectors.
Rachna Reddy, a BJP politician, criticized the AAP administration for allegedly abusing power and voiced worries about the meeting’s scheduling, which was just before the Delhi elections.
Reddy also criticized the Delhi government’s operations, saying it prioritizes empty rhetoric above real administration and encouraging Delhi voters to provide the AAP government with a “befitting reply” at the elections.
“Is AAP attempting to bully out of desperation, frustration, or anger?” Reddy said in an interview with ANI. We’re not sure. As a former minister who is now the chief minister due to Arvind Kejriwal, Raghav Chadha, and Sanjay Singh, does Atishi have the right to summon the DEO, who is in charge of creating the final electoral rolls, to her official residence without any sort of agenda and request the personal information of the objectors, the electoral rolls, etc.?
“What’s going on in Delhi? Is it Gundagardi? Does she understand that it’s election season and that she can’t simply randomly phone up cops and request the personal information of voters in her district? Delhi voters need to respond appropriately to them. “This government has made empty rhetoric but has never worked to improve the lives of Delhi’s citizens,” Reddy remarked.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh defended the government’s actions on Tuesday, claiming that the officer was answerable to them amidst the uproar over the “summoning” of the New Delhi DEO. According to him, the DEO’s responsibility was to supervise the election procedures and ensure that there was no bias.
“He is not a VIP, DEO. He has a responsibility to us. They are responsible for overseeing the electoral process. Are we not going to meet him? Can’t we meet him since he’s such a VIP? Even though we visited his office, a DM’s etiquette is much less formal than that of a Member of Parliament. He ought to be treated with dignity. Is he not embarrassed to say such things? Singh informed ANI.
“In what way do we threaten him? Is it frightening to request information on voters and phantom objectors? The officers need to have some humility. It’s odd that the person tasked with supervising the election procedures views meetings as dangerous,” Singh said.
This comes after worries about possible voting process disturbances prompted the New Delhi District Administration to seek police security for the District Election Officer. Nishant Bodh, the Additional District Magistrate, mentioned the potential for a breakdown of peace and pressure on poll officials, as well as the regular presence of members from political parties at the election office.
The leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ought to be held accountable for “threatening” a poll official, according to Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC on Tuesday. She said that AAP leaders Raghav Chaddha, Sanjay Singh, and Arvind Kejriwal conspired with Delhi Chief Minister Atishi to “question” and “summon” an election official.
“We have been saying this for the last three months, that Arvind Kejriwal and his team have been trying to influence the elections,” Delhi BJP head Virendraa Sachdeva stated in response to this previously. On public holidays, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha threatened the poll officials. This demonstrates that they have totally lost ground.
The Delhi Legislative Assembly was informed of the election dates by the Indian Election Commission. February 5 is the day of the single-phase election, while February 8 is the date of the vote count.
“The election date has been declared. Every employee is prepared to throw themselves into the battle with all of their might and zeal. Our greatest strength is you. The politics of abuse and the politics of employment will be at odds in this election. Delhi residents will trust our work-related politics. Without a doubt, we’ll prevail,” Kejriwal wrote on X.
The Delhi Legislative Assembly has been informed of the election dates by the Indian Election Commission.
February 5 is the day of the single-phase election, while February 8 is the date of the vote count. Nominations must be submitted by January 17. The nominations will be examined on January 18. However, January 20 is the deadline for withdrawing one’s candidacy.
The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has been implemented in the nation’s capital since the election dates were announced, and it will be in effect until the election process is over.
There were 1,55,24,858 registered voters in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, according to the final voter list released on January 6, 2025, for the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections. This is a net gain of 1.09 percent.
Parvesh Verma, a former MP and the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, has been put up by the BJP to run against Arvind Kejriwal for the New Delhi seat.
With Sandeep Dikshit, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, running for the same seat, the Congress has also joined the race.
In the Kalkaji seat, the Congress has put forth former MLA Alka Lamba, while the BJP has put in former MP Ramesh Bidhuri to challenge Delhi CM Atishi.
The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 years in a row, has lost both of the most recent assembly elections and has not been able to secure any seats. In contrast, the BJP only received eight seats in the 2020 assembly elections, while the AAP won 62 of 70 seats.
