AAP leader Somnath Bharti moved the Delhi High Court on Saturday. Election of BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj He plans to run in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections amid corruption allegations.
Justice Manmeet PS Arora will hear the election petition on July 22.
According to the lawsuit, as per the polling officials, Bharti got 374,815 votes while Swaraj got 453,185 votes. Both contested from the New Delhi parliamentary constituency and Swaraj was declared the winner.
“The present election suit is filed under Sections 80 and 81 of the Representation of People Act, whereby the petitioner (Bharti) challenges the election of respondent No. 1 (Swaraj) to the House of Representatives for the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency as Member of the House of Representatives on the grounds of ‘corrupt practices’ perpetrated by respondent No. 1, its election agents and other persons with the consent of the respondents during the 2024 Indian Lok Sabha elections held on 25th May, 2024,” the plea read.
The petition alleges that former AAP minister Raj Kumar Anand was a candidate fielded by the Bahujan Samaj Party but was in fact fielded by Swaraj’s party to support her against the petitioner.
According to the paper, Anand was a minister in the Aam Aam Patel government in Delhi and was actively campaigning for Bharti till April 9 but suddenly resigned from the party on April 10.
It is alleged that Anand contested the election on the Bahujan Samaj Party ticket in order to dent his vote share and support Swaraj, and then joined the BJP on July 10.
“On the election day i.e. 5th May, 2024, the petitioner visited various polling stations in New Delhi constituency and was shocked to see the polling officials of respondent No. 1 carrying pamphlets bearing her vote number, photograph, election symbol and photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and showing the same to the voters queueing up at the polling booth and asking them to cast their vote on ballot No. 1. Such an act definitely amounts to malpractice. This was also reported to respondent No. 3 (Election Officer) but all to no avail,” the plea argued.
