Delhi Polls on February 5, Results on February 8, CM Alleges Centre Evicted her from Official Residence, BJP Refutes
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 7: Delhi will go to polls in a single phase voting on February 5 and the votes will be counted and the results declared on February 8, the Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday.
Over 1.55 crore voters will cast their votes for the 70-member Delhi Assembly of which 12 are scheduled caste reserve seats. A total of 13,033 polling stations will host the election for choosing members of the eighth Delhi Assembly.
According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the polling will be held in a single phase. The last date to file nominations is January 17, the scrutiny of nominations will be done on January 18, and withdrawal of candidates is January 20 and the entire election process after counting will be complete by February 10.” With the announcement of the schedule, the model code of conduct is now in force in the national capital, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.
Addressing a press meet, Mr Kumar said over 2 lakh youngsters will vote for the first time in this election. Announcing several initiatives to make the voting experience smooth, the poll body said arrangements would be made for the elderly and persons with disabilities to access polling booths without difficulty. It also said those above 85 years can cast their vote at home.
“It is a single-phase election… We have deliberately kept polling on a Wednesday so more people come out to vote… like we did in Maharashtra,” Kumar said at a press conference. Bypolls to two Assembly constituencies — Milkipur in Uttar Pradesh and Erode in Tamil Nadu — will also be held according to the same schedule.
During the press conference, the Chief Election Commissioner also dismissed allegations of manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). He said EVMs are tamper-proof and hacking them is impossible. “EVMs are not hackable. Every claim of manipulation has been thoroughly investigated and debunked. This technology has consistently upheld the principles of free and fair elections,” Mr Kumar said.
The poll body also responded to allegations of manipulation of voter lists. Both the AAP and the BJP have accused each other of getting names added and deleted from voter lists to boost poll prospects. Mr Kumar said the Election Commission rigorously follows due process for any change in voter lists.
“Due process has been followed rigorously in deletions or additions to voter lists, there is no room for any manipulation,” the poll panel chief added. “Stories on electoral roll are still going on. There are around 70 steps in it… electoral roll, election process, EVMs, polling stations, Form 17 (C), and counting stations, where political parties and candidates are present there with us.
“Whenever electoral rolls are formed, regular meetings are held, it cannot be done without Form 6, every party has the right to appoint a BLA. Whichever claims and objections are raised, they are shared with each political party at the same time; draft is put up on the website; no deletion is possible until there is Form 7 produced,” the CEC said.
On the controversy around voter turnout data, the poll panel chief said,” It is impossible to change voter turnout…Some polling parties report at midnight or the next day. Form 17C is matched before counting. There is nothing which VTR does not explain. It explains fully.”
“India is gold standard of elections. This is our common heritage… there is no scope of any irregularity in the commission, the procedures are so details. We are ready to punish if there are any mistake individually, we are to take punishment too,” Mr Kumar added.
While the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is pushing hard for a third consecutive term in this election, the Opposition BJP has gone all out to turn the tables. Also in the fight is the Congress, which is going alone and targeting both the BJP and the AAP — its ally during the Lok Sabha polls.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal asked party workers to go all-out in their preparations. “Even the biggest systems fail before your passion. You are our greatest strength. This is an election between the politics of work and the politics of abuses. We will surely win,” he said in a post on X.
BJP president welcomed the announcement of the poll dates. “I appeal to the people to choose a government that contributes to creation of a developed Delhi. BJP is committed to Delhi’s all-round development under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.
Meanwhile, the AAP has alleged that the BJP-led Centre has snatched away the official residence of Delhi Chief Minister Atishi by cancelling the allotment. Addressing a press conference, Ms Atishi claimed that the Centre evicted her out of the official chief minister’s residence, a day before the Election Commission announced the election schedule on Tuesday.
“The schedule for Delhi elections was announced today. Last night, the BJP-led central government, for the second time in three months, threw me out of my official residence, which has been allotted to me as being the CM. They cancelled the allotment of the CM residence through a letter and snatched away the residence from an elected CM of an elected govt,” Ms Atishi said.
Continuing her attack on the BJP, the chief minister added, “They did the same thing three months back. When I was elected as the CM, the belongings of me and my family were thrown on the streets. BJP thinks they will stop our work by snatching our houses, abusing us and making below-the-belt remarks about our families. But, I want to tell people of Delhi that the work won’t stop even if they take away our home.”
Atishi’s allegations were supported by her cabinet colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj, who said, “BJP doesn’t care to work for the people of Delhi. They don’t care if children are getting education, or if people are getting electricity. All they do is to do something against AAP leaders.
“Today, BJP has done something that we couldn’t think of. BJP has once again removed Delhi CM Atishi’s belongings from his official residence. You all must remember when they did it earlier as well. I don’t think this would have happened anywhere in the world before.”
Ms Atishi asserted that no matter what the central government did, she would keep working for the people of Delhi. “An official residence does not matter to me. I will work for the people of Delhi from the streets if needed. When they snatched away my official residence, I pledged to provide ₹2,100 to our women. I will provide free healthcare to our elderly,” she said.
BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya rejected Ms Atishi’s charges saying, “Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Marlena is LYING. She was allotted Sheesh Mahal on 11-Oct-2024. She hasn’t still occupied it because she doesn’t want to offend Arvind Kejriwal. Hence, the allotment was withdrawn and two more bungalows have been offered to her, instead.”
Mr Malviya shared a purported letter issued by the Delhi government’s Public Works Department which said, “Under these circumstances and aforesaid reasons, the offer of allotment of Bungalow No. 6, Flag Staff Road, issued to Ms Atishi, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Delhi vide letter no F.A(6 Flag Staff Road)PWD&H/2024/1472-73 dated 11-10-2024 by Public Works Department Secretariat, Govt. of NCT of Delhi stands withdrawn, with immediate effect.
“In the light of withdrawal of offer letter dated 11.10.2024, it is further proposed by PWD to offer two bungalows viz bungalow No. 2 at 8 Raj Niwas Lane, Civil Lines, New Delhi & bungalow No. 115 at Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi to choose one, for which a separate ‘offer letter’ will be issued to Ms Atishi, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Delhi.”
