New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former Delhi Chief Minister, has raised serious concerns over the candidacy of Awadh Ojha for the Patparganj assembly seat. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Kejriwal alleged a conspiracy by the Election Commission and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to block Ojha’s nomination.
According to Kejriwal, Ojha, who was initially registered to vote in Greater Noida, applied to transfer his vote to Delhi on December 26. After being told that he could not register a new vote, Ojha filled out Form 8 on January 7, which was the last date to apply for vote transfer, as per the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) initial order. However, the CEO later issued a revised order stating that the last date for transfer was January 6, thereby preventing Ojha from filing his nomination. Kejriwal accused the CEO of acting in collusion with the BJP to deliberately hinder Ojha's candidacy, calling this a “conspiracy” to debar their candidate from the election.
Kejriwal further accused the BJP of manipulating the election process, citing instances of vote registrations for employees of BJP MPs, including cooks, gardeners and cleaners, who suddenly found their votes counted. He questioned the timing of these registrations and demanded answers about why such actions were taken just before the election.
Additionally, Kejriwal raised the issue of the Jat reservation in Delhi, stating that despite promises from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 and 2019, the Jat community in Delhi still does not receive reservation benefits, unlike their counterparts from other states. He demanded the fulfilment of the promise, highlighting the discrimination faced by Delhi's Jat community, especially in Central government institutions.
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