Gujarat Polls: AAP Accuses BJP of “Kidnapping” its Candidate, Candidate Surfaces Abusing his own Party

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Nov 16: Amidst high drama, an Aam Aadmi Party candidate in the Gujarat Assembly elections, who his party claimed was “kidnapped” by the rival BJP and forced him to withdraw, suddenly surfaced to claim that he withdrew by his own volition and hurled abuses at his own party as “anti-national” and “anti-Gujarat.”

The AAP’s candidate for the Surat East seat Kanchan Jariwala was claimed to be “untraceable” since he went to the office of the returning officer on Tuesday for the scrutiny of his nomination papers. The AAP top leaders called on the election commission authorities in Delhi to register a strong protest claiming that the party candidate was “kidnapped” by the ruling BJP with the help of the state police and was being pressurised to withdraw his nominations.

Hours after the AAP levelled the allegation, Jariwala released a short video on the social media claiming that he was not kidnapped but he himself decided to withdraw from the contest “listening to his inner voice.” He asserted that he had chosen not to represent a party that is “anti-national” and “anti-Gujarat.”

“People used to ask me during my campaign why I became a candidate of an anti-national and anti-Gujarat party. After listening the constituents, I followed my inner voice and decided to opt out from the contest. I withdrew my nomination without any pressure. My conscience does not permit me to contest from the party that exhibits anti-national and anti-Gujarat mindset,” he is heard saying.

The AAP allegation of forced withdrawal, however, stuck as Jariwala was seen in the video surrounded by hundreds of policemen as he was coming out of the election office. His video surfaced shortly after AAP leaders met with the Election Commission to complain about the “kidnapping” and to demand that the election at Surat (East) be cancelled.

Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said the candidate was kidnapped on Tuesday, dragged to the election office by 500 policemen and forced to withdraw his nomination at gunpoint before being whisked away to an “undisclosed location.” Mr Jariwala and his family could not be reached, and his house was locked, he said.

“There is pressure on him to withdraw his nomination. He has been forced to sit in the poll office and is being pressured by policemen. I want to tell the Election commission that this is an open threat to democracy,” Mr Sisodia alleged.

Flagging his allegations to the Election Commission, he tweeted: “A candidate was kidnapped. They got him to withdraw his nomination at gunpoint. What can be a bigger emergency for the Election Commission?”

Another AAP leader, Raghav Chaddha, posted a video of what he called Mr Jariwala being “dragged” and forced to withdraw his nomination by the police and the BJP. “Watch how police and BJP goons together – dragged our Surat East candidate Kanchan Jariwala to the RO office, forcing him to withdraw his nomination The term ‘free and fair election’ has become a joke!” he tweeted.

Several other AAP leaders tweeted the allegations. “Our candidate from Surat (East), Kanchan Jariwala, and his family missing since yesterday. First, BJP tried to get his nomination rejected. But his nomination was accepted. Later, he was being pressurised to withdraw his nomination. Has he been kidnapped?” tweeted Arvind Kejriwal.

The BJP, in power in Gujarat for 27 years, faces an aggressive campaign by AAP, which has turned the traditional BJP versus Congress rivalry in the state into a triangular contest. Gujarat votes on December 1 and 5 for a new government. The results will be declared on December 8.

AAP raised the kidnapping charge in Gujarat on the same day the BJP accused the party of links to a “bribe-for-ticket scandal” involving some AAP leaders ahead of the Delhi municipal corporation elections due next month. Three persons, including a relative and a personal assistant of AAP MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, were arrested yesterday for allegedly taking lakhs from a party worker who wanted to be a civic poll candidate. Another AAP MLA, Rajesh Gupta, has also been named, and the Delhi Police claim to have audio and video proof.