BJP MPs asked to manufacture votes in Delhi polls: Kejriwal

A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) dismissed claims of electoral roll manipulation, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday accused the BJP of instructing its seven members of Parliament from Delhi to manufacture fake votes ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in the national capital.

Kejriwal made the accusation in a post on X, stating that Delhi chief minister Atishi would soon meet with the chief election commissioner (CEC) to discuss the matter.

“According to sources, the Gaali Galauj Party has set targets for its seven MPs to fabricate fake votes in the New Delhi Legislative Assembly in the coming days. Let’s observe how many applications for new voter registrations are submitted in the next few days. Everyone should keep a close watch on this. Atishi ji has requested an appointment with the chief election commissioner. We hope we will be granted time soon,” Kejriwal wrote in Hindi on X.

On Tuesday, CEC Rajiv Kumar responded to allegations of voter deletions, rejecting the claims. "Indian voters are very knowledgeable... There are ongoing rumours about the electoral rolls. There are almost 70 steps in place, with political parties and candidates involved. All claims and objections are shared with political parties. No deletion can take place without Form 7,” he stated, before announcing the schedule for the Delhi assembly elections.

Kumar further addressed concerns regarding electronic voting machines (EVMs), dismissing any possibility of tampering.

"There is no evidence suggesting EVMs are unreliable or defective... There is no question of a virus or bug being introduced into the EVM. Invalid votes in EVMs are not possible. Rigging is not feasible. High courts and the Supreme Court have consistently affirmed this in their rulings. What more can be said? EVMs are foolproof devices for counting votes. Allegations of tampering are groundless. We are addressing this now because we don’t speak during elections," he added.

Kumar also noted that returning to paper ballots would be both unnecessary and regressive, as reported by ANI.

Earlier this month, Kejriwal had alleged that the BJP was attempting to remove voters' names from the electoral rolls in the New Delhi assembly segment, where Kejriwal is set to challenge the BJP's Parvesh Verma.

The Delhi assembly elections are scheduled for 5 February, with the vote count set to be held on 8 February.