New Delhi:

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to declare Parvesh Verma as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

“According to sources, BJP is going to declare Parvesh Verma as its CM face. Will the people of Delhi want to make such a person their CM?” Arvind Kejriwal posted on X.

In another post, Arvind Kejriwal alleged that a BJP leader was caught distributing money to voters.

“I just returned from several areas in my New Delhi Vidhan Sabha constituency. People everywhere told me that these individuals are openly buying votes. They are offering Rs 1,100 for one vote. People said they would take the money but not vote for them,” the AAP chief stated.

“If you had worked for the public in the past ten years instead of abusing me, you wouldn’t need to resort to buying votes in this election,” he added.

Amidst notices issued by senior Delhi government officials disavowing the Aam Aadmi Party’s registration process for two schemes in the capital, AAP leader Atishi accused the BJP of distributing cash in the New Delhi assembly constituency, where Arvind Kejriwal is contesting elections.

Atishi alleged that BJP leader and former West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma was caught distributing money at his official residence.

“The BJP is distributing cash to people after checking their voter cards in the New Delhi constituency. Today, Parvesh Verma was caught red-handed giving out money at his official residence, allocated to him as an MP. Women from various slums in the constituency were called there and given Rs 1,100 in envelopes,” Atishi said during a press conference.

She claimed that crores of rupees were stashed at Mr Verma’s residence and urged the Election Commission to direct the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Delhi Police to raid the premises and arrest him.

“I want to inform the ED and CBI that cash worth crores of rupees is still at Parvesh Verma’s house. I urge the Election Commission to instruct the ED and Delhi Police to raid his official residence and arrest him immediately. The BJP is attempting to win a lost election. We will officially lodge complaints with the police and the Election Commission. The pamphlets used for distributing money also carry pictures of PM Modi and JP Nadda,” she added.

This controversy follows public notices issued by the Department of Women and Child Development, which declared the Mahila Samman Yojana as “non-existent.” The department clarified that no such scheme has been officially notified.

In the notice, the department stated that any private individual or political party collecting information through forms or registrations in the name of the Mahila Samman Yojana is committing fraud.

“It is clarified that no such scheme has been notified by the Delhi Government,” the department noted, adding that people had been visiting government hospitals and offices seeking information about the scheme.

The Delhi Assembly polls are expected to be held in early 2025. In the 2020 elections, AAP won 62 of the 70 seats, while the BJP secured eight.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

As Delhi celebrates Christmas, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has used Artificial Intelligence to show Arvind Kejriwal in a Santa Claus avatar. “Delhi’s own Santa delivering gifts year-round,” the AAP captioned its post on X.

The 36-second video shows Mr Kejriwal dressed as Santa as a song playing in the background describes him as “jolly old Kejriwal”. The AAP leader is seen handing over a gift with Rs 2,100 written on it to a woman — symbolising the Mahila Samman Yojana AAP has announced ahead of the Delhi polls due in February.

Delhi’s own Santa delivering gifts year-round #MerryChristmas pic.twitter.com/km2IOdAPoQ

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) December 25, 2024

The AAP leader is then seen with children in front of a building named “Delhi gov school” as the party showcased its achievements in bettering government schools in the capital.

The song also referred to AAP’s initiatives for elderly citizens and free bus rides for women. The video also showed Mr Kejriwal holding a box named, “Sanjeevani Yojana”, a scheme to provide free medical treatment to those over 60 at government and private hospitals.

“Ho, ho, ho Santa Kejriwal is here, spreading joy to all far and near. Electricity is free all day and night, Santa Kejriwal’s gifts are a delight,” the song went on.

The Mahila Samman Yojana and the Sanjeevani Yojana have, meanwhile, hit a roadblock after Delhi government’s health and women and child development departments issued notices, disowning the scheme and stressing that any collection of personal information in the name of the schemes was “fraudulent” and unauthorised. Mr Kejriwal has slammed the Centre, saying that the schemes had “rattled” them. 

Arvind Kejriwal will contest the upcoming Delhi Assembly election from his current constituency New Delhi, the fourth list of candidates Aam Aadmi Party released today shows. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Gopal Rai are sticking to their current seats, Kalkaji, Greater Kailash and Babarpur, respectively.

AAP has now released the names of its candidates for all 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly. Shortly after AAP released its final list of candidates, Mr Kejriwal said the party would contest these polls with full confidence and preparations.

“The BJP is invisible. They don’t have a Chief Minister face, a team or a plan, or a vision for Delhi. They have just one slogan and missing — ‘remove Kejriwal’. Ask them what they have done for five years, they will say ‘we abused Kejriwal’,” said the former Chief Minister, who has resigned from the post and said he would return only after the verdict in the “people’s court”

Mr Kejriwal said AAP has a vision for the development of Delhi and its people, a plan and a team of educated leaders to implement this. “We have a list of work we have done in 10 years. Delhi residents will vote for those who work, not those who abuse,” he said. Assembly polls in Delhi are likely to be held in February.

By fielding Mr Kejriwal, Ms Atishi and top ministers from seats they currently represent, AAP has also responded to the BJP’s dare after the ruling party released its second list of candidates. When former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia moved from his current seat Patparganj to Jangpura, Delhi BJP chief Virendraa Sachdeva had claimed that many AAP MLAs didn’t want to contest the polls because they feared defeat. “(Former) Deputy Chief Minister (Sisodia) has fled, imagine the fear. Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi will flee too,” he had said.

Another key name on AAP’s fourth list is senior party leader and former minister Satyendra Jain. Mr Jain, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case in 2022 and granted bail in October, has been repeated from the Shakur Basti seat he currently holds. This points to the party’s rock-solid support for him. In west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar constituency, AAP has fielded Pooja Balyan, wife of sitting MLA Naresh Balyan. This comes a month after Mr Balyan’s remark, in which he promised to make roads as “smooth as Hema Malini’s cheeks” sparked a row and earned him a rap from the National Commission for Women.

New Delhi:

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) boss Arvind Kejriwal has reiterated his party’s decision to contest the upcoming Delhi elections on its own, trashing reports that the AAP was discussing a seat-sharing strategy with the Congress. His remark came a day after he met veteran politician Sharad Pawar at his Delhi home, also attended by senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

“Aam Aadmi Party will be fighting this election on its own strength in Delhi. There is no possibility of any alliance with Congress,” said Mr Kejriwal, sharing a post that said the parties were in the final stage of their alliance talks.

Devender Yadav, the interim boss of Delhi Congress, confirmed last month the two parties will not contest together in the election that is expected to be held in February.

Read: AAP “Fishing In Congress’ Waters” As Arvind Kejriwal Plots Re-Election Bid

Last week, after Mr Kejriwal announced a solo contest in Delhi, a Congress leader said that by making repeated statements, the AAP wants to create an environment that compromises the Congress.

“It means they (AAP) are afraid and want to create an environment that compromises the Congress. Otherwise, when this has been clarified, then it should not happen again. A week ago, Delhi Congress had said that we would not make an alliance with anyone,” former Congress MP Udit Raj had said.

The AAP had allied with the Congress during the parliamentary polls earlier this year but lost all seven seats to the BJP. The two parties went solo in Haryana polls in October after alliance talks failed over seat choices, which was seen as a reason behind their poll debacle.

The Delhi unit of Congress had been targeting the AAP over various issues, even though the two parties are working together at the national level, including for the ongoing Parliament session.

Read: “When We Have Said…”: Congress Reacts To AAP Going Solo For Delhi Poll

Sources told NDTV that the AAP was looking for strong candidates in the Congress fold with a focus on reviving the party in the city after the Lok Sabha poll setback.

The recent announcement by Mr Kejriwal followed a decision by the Opposition’s INDIA alliance to approach the Supreme Court over an alleged manipulation of the Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs, which they believe is behind their election defeats.

The decision assumed significance in the wake of the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s Maharashtra poll setback, which saw Sharad Pawar’s party – split by his nephew Ajit Pawar – recording its worst performance.