Arvind Kejriwal, the convener of the Aam Aadmi birthday party (AAP) and former Delhi chief Minister, accused the Bharatiya Janata celebration (BJP) of trying to control the upcoming Delhi meeting elections via tampering with voter lists. Kejriwal described this alleged operation as “Operation Lotus,” which, in line with him, has been underway when you consider that December 15, 2023, in a bid to regulate the electoral outcome in choose of the BJP.
Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal vehemently claimed that the BJP had already conceded defeat in Delhi, citing the party’s lack of a credible chief ministerial candidate, imaginative and prescient, or robust leadership. He argued that without a vast schedule to give to the electorate, the BJP had resorted to dishonest and unlawful approaches, together with manipulating the voter rolls to gain an advantage in the 2025 Delhi meeting elections. Kejriwal specially highlighted discrepancies within the voter lists for his personal constituency, New Delhi, in which he is set to contest the approaching elections.
“In my constituency, the BJP’s ‘Operation Lotus’ has been ongoing on the grounds that December 15. in just 15 days, they’ve filed applications for the deletion of 5,000 votes and the addition of seven,500 votes,” Kejriwal alleged. He further questioned the legitimacy of the whole electoral system, asking, “Why even keep elections if such manipulations are occurring? This isn’t always democracy; it’s miles a recreation being played with voters’ rights.”
Kejriwal’s feedback mirror a growing experience of urgency and frustration within AAP because the birthday party anticipates the imminent meeting polls. The birthday party chief expressed deep concern about the size of those alleged manipulations, which, if authentic, could have an effect on a enormous portion of voters—about 12% of the total electorate in the New Delhi constituency alone.
The allegations of voter manipulation come inside the wake of in advance accusations from Delhi chief Minister Atishi, who also accused BJP leaders of conducting corrupt practices to sway electorate. Atishi in particular pointed to Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, a former Member of Parliament from West Delhi and a outstanding BJP leader, who she alleged become caught distributing bribes to influence voter conduct inside the New Delhi constituency. these bribery claims have led AAP to document a criminal grievance against Verma on the Barakhamba Police Station in New Delhi, accusing him of attempting to shop for votes in advance of the elections.
The political tension among AAP and BJP has been escalating as Delhi heads in the direction of the 2025 assembly elections. even as AAP keeps to claim that the BJP is desperate and resorting to illegal means, the BJP has denied all accusations, labeling them as baseless and politically influenced.
The Delhi assembly elections are predicted to take place in early 2025, and the stakes are especially excessive in the capital, where AAP has hooked up a firm grip on energy, winning 62 of the 70 seats within the 2020 elections. The BJP, which secured best eight seats in the remaining election, is now going through mounting strain to reclaim ground and boom its influence inside the city. the debate over voter manipulation is just one among several issues which can be probable to dominate the political discourse main up to the polls.
For AAP, this election isn’t always only about maintaining its dominance in Delhi however additionally about proving its allegations of BJP’s underhanded procedures. If Kejriwal’s claims maintain any fact, the revelations may want to severely harm the BJP’s credibility and further impress AAP’s function as a defender of electoral integrity. then again, if the BJP manages to triumph over those accusations and recapture the voters’s consider, it can mark a vast political turnaround for the birthday celebration in a kingdom where it has struggled to make inroads.
The 2025 Delhi meeting elections are shaping as much as be one of the most contentious and carefully watched in recent years, with both events exchanging sharp barbs over methods, transparency, and the integrity of the electoral technique. With allegations of bribery, voter manipulation, and information breaches already at the forefront of the marketing campaign, the struggle for Delhi is poised to turn out to be a excessive-stakes showdown that might set the tone for the future of the city’s politics.
