Delhi polls: Congratulating 'BJP's CM face,' AAP's Arvind Kejriwal challenges him to a public debate

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Jan 11 challenged the "Bharatiya Janata Party's CM candidate Ramesh Bidhuri" to a public debate in the interest of strengthening democracy.

Making clear that the AAP had unanimously chosen him as the party's CM candidate, Kejriwal said he learnt through reliable sources that the BJP will soon announce Bidhuri as its CM face and questioned Bidhuri's contributions to Delhi's development during his time as a Member of Parliament.

"We are getting information that Ramesh Bidhuri's name will be officially announced as the BJP CM face in one or two days. I congratulate Ramesh Bidhuri on becoming the CM face of the BJP," Kejriwal said at a press conference in Delhi.

“Bidhuri should tell what he did for the development of Delhi while being an MP. What is his vision for Delhi?” Kejriwal said, as he proposed a public debate between the chief ministerial candidates of the AAP and the BJP.

“Once Bidhuri's candidacy is officially announced, I propose that to strengthen democracy, there should be a public debate between the AAP's candidate and the BJP's candidate, Ramesh Bidhuri, in front of the people of Delhi, the nation, and the media," Kejriwal said. “In this debate, people can assess who to vote for, based on what each has accomplished, their visions, and their plans for Delhi.”

“Yes, we are challenging the BJP to a debate,” Kejriwal said in response to questions from reporters.

The BJP, however, dismissed Kejriwal's claim as a “baseless rumor.”

“Can Kejriwal decide the BJP's chief ministerial face? Who is he to make such claims?” asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Other BJP leaders like Virendra Sachdeva and RP Singh reminded the AAP chief of the court's conditions while granting him bail in the Delhi excise policy case.

“Kejriwal should consult legal experts and understand that as per Supreme Court bindings, he cannot even be sworn in as chief minister,” said Sachdeva, the Delhi BJP president.

Seconding Sachdeva, the BJP's RP Singh said: “Kejriwal keeps talking about the chief ministerial face. That he is the chief ministerial face and who is against him. The court has said you can't be the chief minister. According to the court order, you could not sign any file as the chief minister, couldn't go to the chief minister's office and nor could you call a meeting as chief minister. The order is still in force, you have not got any relief.”

BJP's CEC meeting

The BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) held a crucial meeting on Jan 10 to finalize the remaining candidates for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections.

The meeting held at the BJP headquarters saw the participation of key leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Shah, and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, along with several prominent Delhi BJP leaders.

The meeting primarily focused on the remaining seats in Delhi and discussions were held to finalize the candidates for such constituencies, according to news agency ANI.

The BJP is likely to release the final list of candidates for these constituencies in Delhi on Jan 11, the report said.

The Delhi election is scheduled to take place in a single phase on Feb 5, and the results will be declared on Feb 8.

AAP alleges voter registration malpractices

The AAP on Jan 11 accused the BJP's top leaders and Union ministers of voter registration malpractices in Delhi.

Addressing a press conference, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged that top leaders of the BJP are deceiving and undermining the Election Commission by applying to register fake votes from different addresses in the capital.

"Union ministers, BJP MPs, and leaders are playing with the reputation of the Election Commission by throwing dust in its eyes, they are committing electoral scams and frauds. The BJP candidate from New Delhi, Parvesh Verma is a former MP, not a sitting MP, yet he has been occupying the MP's bungalow for 8 months from May to January," Singh said.

"Not only this, he has given an application to get 33 votes made at the address of his bungalow. The second name is Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary. He has given an application to get 26 votes made at his address. Union minister Kamlesh Paswan has given an application for getting 26 votes made at his address," he added.

The AAP's allegations came a day after Delhi BJP chief Sachdeva said that Kejriwal was trying to get large numbers of votes registered from the addresses of party workers in certain constituencies.

"These votes are of people who do not stay in Delhi and will suddenly show up to cast their vote on the election day," Sachdeva alleged.

Sachdeva said that he has sought an appointment with the Election Commission and would soon file a complaint.