BJP is tampering with voter list: AAP

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring with election officials in illegally striking off names of at least one lakh voters from the electoral rolls in South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency ahead of 2019 general elections. The party alleged the voters, whose names have been deleted, include four family members of its Tughlaqabad lawmaker Sahi Ram.

The BJP, in response, accused AAP of maligning the election commission of India for political ends.

“About 1,00,000 voters from South Delhi parliamentary constituency have been unconstitutionally removed from the voter list at the behest of BJP,” said Raghav Chadha, AAP’S national spokesperson and in-charge of South Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

Chadha said that at least 10,000 voters were deleted on an average from each of the ten assembly constituencies under South Delhi parliamentary seat over past 18 months. “It is understood that it is a part of a motivated ploy to rig elections and due process for deletion from voter list has not been followed,” he said.

BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari refuted the charges. “They (AAP leaders) were caught making fake voter IDS of Bangladeshis a week ago. They must be doing something dubious and got their own votes cancelled. We will report this matter to EC, which is an independent body,” Tiwari said.

Chadha said party’s investigation revealed that the names of voters deleted are mostly of polling booths where AAP has won in previous elections.

AAP also alleged that names of four family members of its Tughlaqabad MLA Sahi Ram have also been struck off from the list. “I have been living with my family in my ancestral house for decades. They have deletes names of my four family members, including my son, from the list,” Ram said.