NEW DELHI: Responding to the allegations levelled by AAP’s Delhi unit president Saurabh Bhardwaj over vote deletions in the New Delhi assembly seat when it was held by former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Election Commission on Friday said it had sent a reply of 76 pages consisting of seven annexures to Atishi on January 13, days after she raised the concerns over the issue.
Bhardwaj also claimed that then CM Atishi wrote to then Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar about the alleged vote theft in January but “nothing happened”.
In its response against the allegations, the poll panel released a copy of its January 13 letter on the matter through a social media post and noted that Atishi had raised concerns about a sudden spike in voter addition and deletion.
The EC in the social media post said, “With reference to the PC held by Saurabh Bhardwaj today, it is stated that the ECI sent a detailed reply of 76 pages consisting of seven annexures, including reports of CEO/DEO, on 13.01.2025 to Ms Atishi, the then CM of Delhi.”
At the same time, in the letter, addressed to Atishi, the poll panel had also said that the issue was duly examined and pointed out that AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann and Sanjay Singh had also met its officials in person to convey their grievances.
“The Commission firmly believes that an inclusive, healthy, pure and transparently prepared electoral roll is the foundation of free, fair and credible elections,” the letter to Atishi read.
The poll panel’s latest reaction on the matter came hours after Saurabh Bharadwaj said that AAP had raised the issue of voter deletions with the EC and an RTI was filed with the poll panel last month seeking details of the investigation conducted. In its reply, the Election Commission stated that the action taken in this case couldn’t be made public, he alleged.