NEW DELHI: Incumbent Chief Minister and the AAP candidate from Kalkaji, Atishi, wrote to election officials on Tuesday alleging that volunteers of her party were “intimidated and threatened” by BJP workers, while requesting deployment of security forces in the area.
In a complaint to the returning officer of Kalkaji, Atishi cited an incident of “intimidation and threat” to AAP volunteers in the Govindpuri area on Monday. “AAP volunteers, including Rekha Bassi, Mani Mamta, Aradhana, Sunita Pandey, Sher Singh, Hari Shankar Gupta and others, were verbally and physically threatened by some BJP workers,” she alleged.
The chief minister also alleged that those who “threatened” the AAP volunteers included a nephew of Ramesh Bidhuri, the BJP candidate from the seat.
She claimed a video of the “altercation” was shot by AAP workers on a mobile phone. “BJP workers have been openly threatening AAP volunteers. If these workers are getting so aggressive with AAP workers, then one can imagine the kind of influence they would have on the voters living in these areas,” Atishi alleged in her letter.
She requested for immediate action in the matter and deployment of security forces in the Kalkaji constituency to ensure the safety of AAP workers.
Meanwhile, In a post on X, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal alleged that under police “protection and assistance”, the BJP workers are “openly resorting to hooliganism” with the people of Delhi and “threatening” them. “All this is happening on direction of Union Home Minister,” the former chief minister alleged.
The BJP lost the Assembly polls badly in 2015 and 2020, he said, adding that the same fate awaits the party this time too.