"We are sure there will be fair elections in Delhi": BJP candidate Satish Upadhyay ahead of poll dates

NEW DELHI: BJP candidate from Malviya Nagar Assembly constituency, Satish Upadhyay asserted that the Election Commission of India would hold fair elections in the National Capital.

"It is welcome. The Election Commission is working very well in Delhi. We are sure there will be fair elections in Delhi. After the dates are announced, the candidates will contact the voters and the BJP government will be formed for sure...," he told ANI.

Replying to the query, regarding alleged voter deletion, he said, "It is a part of their (AAP) politics to put pressure on the Election Commission."

The schedule for the Delhi assembly polls will be announced on Tuesday afternoon, as per the Election Commission of India.

AAP won 62 out of the 70 seats in the 2020 assembly elections and BJP secured eight seats.

Earlier, Aam Aadmi Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal claimed that "Large-Scale" fraud in voter addition and deletions in the New Delhi Assembly seat is taking place.

In a post on X, Kejriwal cited a letter from Chief Minister Atishi sent to Delhi Chief Electoral Officer. "Large-scale fraud taking place in voter additions and deletions in the New Delhi assembly. Delhi CM Atishi ji writes this letter to CEC presenting evidence and seeking time to meet," he said.

CM Atishi, in her letter to the Delhi CEO, said, "I am writing to urgently draw your attention towards a significant surge in voter addition and deletion applications in the New Delhi Assembly Constituency over the past few days. "She mentioned that from October 29, 2024, to January 2, 2025, a total of 13,276 Form-6 were received. "From October 29 to January 2, 6,166 Form-7 were received," CM Atishi said.

"Total no of votes, as per draft electoral rolls published after summary revision on 29 October 2024, is 1,06,873. Number of votes sought to be deleted is 6,166, which is 5.77 per cent of total votes," She added.

The Delhi CM, in her letter, said that as per various rules, if the number of deletions sought is more than 2 per cent of total votes, then the Election Registration Officer (ERO) will personally verify each deletion request.

In its counter-response, BJP Delhi president Virendraa Sachdeva accused Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh of threatening the election officer and called for action against them. This came after the New Delhi District Election Officer wrote a letter to Delhi's Chief Electoral Officer on the issue of AAP leaders' allegations related to voter deletion in the New Delhi Assembly Constituency area. Sachdeva further alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, Arvind Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha are involved in the conspiracy to murder democracy.