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Kejriwal continues to be the most preferred CM; AAP gets an edge over BJP: Survey

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Arvind-Kejriwal-Kiran-Bedi

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party has managed to win back supporters in New Delhi and has now taken a lead over the BJP in the Delhi Assembly polls, a pre-poll survey conducted by ABP News – Nielsen shows.

According to the survey, 50 percent of those polled were likely to vote for the Kejriwal-led party, up 4 percent from the last survey conducted by the agency in the second week of January.

In bad news for the BJP, the survey, which was conducted on 24 and 25 January to ascertain what impact Kiran Bedi’s announcement had on the electorate, showed the party’s fortunes decline by 4 percent (now down to 41 percent) in what ABP-Nielsen states is an indication that Bedi is not helping the party bring in new voters.

The BJP, according to the survey, has a higher proportion of committed voters – 84 percent – who say ‘they shall definitely vote for BJP now’ that Bedi has been announced as CM candidate.

However, in terms of its Chief Ministerial choice, Delhiites seem to still prefer Arvind Kejriwal over everyone else. The AAP leader, according to the survey, is the most suitable candidate for the position of CM with a 51 percent vote share while Kiran Bedi managed to secure 40 percent. The Congress’s Ajay Maken finished third with just 8 percent.

The survey states that the AAP’s support base is largely made up of Muslims, SC/ST/OBC and lower income groups. In terms of income groups, a majority of respondents belonging to the lower income group favoured AAP, while those with income on the higher side (Rs. 25,000 per month and above) favoured BJP. For the BJP, the Modi factor still seemed to hold some ground with several respondents saying that they will vote for the BJP because they wanted to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The snap poll was conducted in 70 assembly constituencies of Delhi with 2262 respondents. You can read the entire findings here. Delhi goes to polls on 7 February and the results will be declared on 1o February.

Bedi draws flak after putting scarf on Lajpat Rai statue

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BJP's Delhi CM nominee Kiran Bedi on Wednesday came under fire from Arvind Kejriwal for putting her party's scarf around a statue of freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai. (ANI photo)

BJP’s Delhi CM nominee Kiran Bedi on Wednesday came under fire from Arvind Kejriwal for putting her party’s scarf around a statue of freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai. (ANI photo)

New Delhi: The BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for Delhi Kiran Bedi on Wednesday came under fire from AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal for putting her party’s scarf around the statue of freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai in Krishna Nagar.

“I would like to request Kiran Bedi to spare our freedom fighters and not saffronise them. These leaders fought for independence for 120 crore Indians. There should be no politics over them,” said Kejriwal.

Bedi, who began her roadshow at Krishna Nagar from where she is contesting the Delhi assembly polls on February 7, paid tribute to Rai, cleaned his statue, put a garland and placed her Bharatiya Janata Party’s sash on it as well.

She also met tea and newspaper sellers in the area and enquired about the issues they were facing.

Although she removed the scarf later, Aam Aadmi Party chief Kejriwal did not let the opportunity to criticise her go by.

The garlands and flowers were also removed after Bedi left the place.

While on her way to file her nomination, Bedi led a road show through east Delhi, including the Krishna Nagar constituency, which is considered a BJP stronghold.

Kejriwal too will file his nomination papers from the New Delhi assembly constituency on Wednesday after he failed to meet the deadline for filing the nominations on Tuesday.

(With ANI inputs)

Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi file nomination

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Arvind-Kejriwal-Kiran-Bedi

New Delhi: AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in Delhi, filed their nomination from New Delhi assembly constituency for the Feb 7 polls.

Bedi reached the sub-divisional magistrate’s (SDM) office around noon. She was accompanied by senior leaders Harsh Vardhan, Vijay Goel, Maheish Girri and Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay.

Before filing her nomination, Bedi participated in a roadshow from the Lala Lajpat Rai chowk which culminated at the SDM’s office.

“I hope people will accept me and vote for the BJP,” Bedi told reporters before filing her nominations.

Aravind Kejriwal, the former Delhi chief minister, met with protests by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers as he reached the district magistrate office on Shahjahan Road at 11.20 a.m.

The BJP workers standing outside the district magistrate office shouted anti-Kejriwal and pro-Narendra Modi slogans. Then, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers also started raising anti-Modi slogans.

It took Kejriwal nearly an hour to complete the procedure.

‘It is people who have to decide who they need to vote for…In fact, they have decided that they have to vote for the AAP in full majority,’ Kejriwal said after filing his nomination papers.

‘My biggest challenges are corruption and price rise. I accept that people were angry because of our resignation earlier, but now their anger is over and they have full faith in us,’ he added.

Delhi elections: BJP's Nupur Sharma to take on Kejriwal

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Nupur Sharma, a former Delhi University Students Union president, was associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the BJP.

Nupur Sharma, a former Delhi University Students Union president, was associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the BJP.

New Delhi: The BJP Monday fielded a young party member Nupur Sharma to take on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi seat in Delhi assembly polls. The party’s first list of 62 candidates included new entrants Kiran Bedi, Krishna Tirath and Vinod Kumar Binny.

The list includes former union minister and Congress leader Tirath from Patel Nagar. Tirath got the BJP ticket on the day she declared her association with the party, creating a record of sorts.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi, a former IPS officer, has been fielded from Krishna Nagar, a “traditional” seat of the party. Bedi joined the BJP Jan 15.

Binny, a former AAP MLA, will contest from Patparganj. He joined the BJP Sunday.

Briefing reporters after the meeting of party’s central election committee and parliamentary board, BJP leader and union minister J.P. Nadda said that party’s Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhyay will not contest the polls.

“He has a huge responsibility. He will not be fighting the election,” Nadda said.

Those fielded by the BJP also included Vijendra Gupta from Rohini, Jagdish Mukhi from Janakpuri, Karan Singh Tanwar from Delhi Cantonment and M.S. Dhir from Jangpura.

Dhir is a former speaker of Delhi assembly and had won the 2013 election as an AAP nominee.
Elections to 70-member Delhi assembly will be held Feb 7.

Nupur Sharma is a former Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) president. She was associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP. Her name was being considered by the party against Kejriwal even in 2013 elections.

On November 6, 2008, when she was DUSU president, she led an ABVP mob into an arts faculty seminar room in the university, where some students and teachers groups had invited Zakir Hussain College professor and former accused in the Parliament attack case SAR Geelani to participate in a seminar titled ‘Communalism, Fascism and Democracy: Rhetoric and Reality’.

While a number of them vandalised the venue, an ABVP activist spat on Geelani’s face. Sharma herself was seen heckling Geelani.

Late that night, she was on a popular television show where the anchor asked whether she, a student, would apologise to Geelani, the professor.

“I am not going to apologise… What for?” she quipped. Later in the show, she ventured, “I’ll take a stand. The whole country should spit at him. Who invited him to the university to speak on terrorism?”

(With inputs from IANS)

Kiran Bedi BJP's chief ministerial candidate in Delhi; hoarding vandalised outside party office

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Kiran Bedi

New Delhi: Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, who joined the BJP less than a week ago, will be the party’s chief ministerial candidate in the Feb 7 Delhi assembly polls, taking on her former anti-corruption stir colleague Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

She will contest from Krishna Nagar seat in east Delhi. It was earlier held by Harsh Vardhan, the chief ministerial candidate in the December 2013 elections and now a union minister.

Making the announcement after a meeting of the party parliamentary board, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah expressed confidence that the decision will result in the party getting full majority.

“The BJP parliamentary board has decided that the party will fight the forthcoming polls under leadership of Kiran Bedi. Kiranji will also be the chief ministerial candidate,” Shah said at a late night press conference.

“I feel the name that the BJP has decided will meet the peoples’ expectations and our decision will definitely lead to victory,” he added.

Shah said that workers were feeling enthused since Bedi took membership of the party. “It has raised their morale,” he said.

Bedi joined the BJP Jan 15.

Shah dismissed suggestions that there were differences among party leaders over Bedi’s projection as the chief ministerial candidate.

“Every worker is one on this,” he said.

Hoarding Vandalised

Hours after the announcement, however, a hoarding of Bedi outside the BJP office here was vandalised.

Some vandals had cut out the faces of Bedi and party president Satish Upadhyay from a hoarding that was put up outside the office of BJP’s state unit at 14, Pandit Pant Marg following the announcement.

The banner showed Upadhyay and Bedi on one side and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah on the other with the lines “Kiran Bedi ji ka Bhajapa me hardik swagat hain” (A hearty welcome to Kiran Bedi in BJP) written in the centre.

The incident appears to be giving credibility to some media reports that the decision to opt for Bedi — considered to be an “outsider” — over other senior leaders has divided the party, with one section overjoyed and the other left sulking.

The BJP’s decision on naming Bedi, 65, as chief ministerial candidate came after the party leadership felt that they needed a credible local face to take on Kejriwal, who has strong anti-corruption credentials. AAP finished close to the BJP in the 2013 assembly poll.

The party’s decision came just two days before the end of nomination process for the Feb 7 polls to the 70-member assembly.

Bedi has been an anti-corruption activist, a former tennis player and her innings in Delhi Police is still widely remembered in the city. She initiated prison reforms in the Tihar Central Jail when she was heading it.

She has won the Ramon Magsaysay award, an honour she shares with Kejriwal. Both were part of the anti-corruption agitation led by Gandhian Anna Hazare.

Since her induction in the BJP, Bedi has talked about her priorities — as a likely candidate to lead the party’s campaign.

Asked about the change in BJP’s stance of not projecting a chief ministerial candidate, Shah said the party had also projected chief ministerial candidates in states such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

“There is an atmosphere. A decision is taken after taking into account all factors… the political factors,” he said.

Before it took decision to induct Bedi and project a local face, the BJP in Delhi appeared to bank mainly on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Answering a query about Bedi being an “outsider”, Shah said that the party had provided platform to people from various fields and they had delivered successfully.

“The decision was taken with consensus. It has support of all,” he said.

Shah said the party would continue to have a tie-up with the Shiromani Akali Dal in Delhi.

On Bedi, he said: “She has lived in Delhi throughout her life. She is a well-known name in the fight against corruption and in service of people.”

Answering a query, he said the decision to field Bedi from Krishna Nagar, a “traditional seat” of the party, was taken so that she could devote time to campaign in all the seats.

(IANS)

Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi joins BJP, likely to contest against Kejriwal

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Kiran Bedi

New Delhi: Former IPS officer and anti-corruption activist Kiran Bedi on Thursday joined the BJP at a function held at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

Praising Bedi for her role as an IPS officer, BJP chief Amit Shah said: “I welcome her on behalf of the party and I believe that her joining the party will strengthen the Delhi unit especially ahead of the polls.”

Shah also announced that Bedi would contest the elections but stopped short of announcing her as the CM candidate saying it was the parliamentary board that decides the CM.

“Leave it to the parliamentary board, let them decide who will be the CM,” he said.

Along with Bedi, ex-AAP leader Shazia Ilmi as well as former Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Prada are also expected to join the party today.

While Jaya Prada in an interview to a news channel confirmed that she is in talks with the party, Shazia Ilmi sought time before taking a final decision.

Shazia Ilmi, however, made it clear that she will campaign against AAP and will work “to expose AAP for what it is.”

Delhi election Feb 7, result Feb 10

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delhi-assembly-election

New Delhi: Delhi will vote to elect a new assembly Feb 7, a year after the AAP government resigned after 49 days in power, and the votes will be counted Feb 10, it was announced Monday.

Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath said the last date for nomination of candidates will be Jan 21 and they could withdraw from the contest by Jan 24.

Delhi elected a hung assembly in December 2013 after which the Aam Aadmi Party formed a minority government headed by Arvind Kejriwal with Congress backing. Kejriwal resigned Feb 14, 2014.

The Delhi assembly was dissolved in November last year, after all three major parties – the BJP, the Congress, and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party – said they were not in a position to form the government.

Delhi has not had a chief minister since Arvind Kejriwal resigned after 49 days in office in February last year. His party has appealed to Delhi to give it a majority and Mr Kejriwal the chance to be chief minister for a longer term this time.

(IANS)

Clear stand on conversions: Kejriwal to government

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Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government should clear its stand on religious conversions in the country, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal said here Saturday.

“First of all, the government should clear its stand. The prime minister should clear his stand on it,” Kejriwal said in response to his party’s stand on the issue.

He was speaking to reporters on the sideline of a programme at St. Stephen’s college.

“This party came to power on the promise of development but there has been none in the past six months,” he said.

“They talk about love jihad, religious conversion, and in Delhi, where there have been no riots in the past 35 years, they initiate one,” Kejriwal said.

“Had they told people that they would indulge in all this, people would have voted accordingly,” he said.

(IANS)

AAP to file criminal case against BJP: Kejriwal

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Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: The Aam Admi Party (AAP) would file a criminal case against the BJP for levelling baseless allegations against its source of funding, party chief Arvind Kejriwal said Tuesday

“Media has widely covered arbitrary and baseless allegations by BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) against our funding. We are filing criminal defamation against BJP,” Kejriwal tweeted.

Earlier Monday, BJP had demanded a probe into AAP’s funding, with one of its parliamentarians Ramesh Bidhuri saying that its delegation would complain to the union finance minister.

Kejriwal tweeted: “I have been challenging BJP and cong (Congress) to disclose their list of donors (the way we do). Wud (Would) media give similar coverage to us?”

The former chief minister accused the BJP of terrorizing AAP donors.

He tweeted: “For the first time, a political party trying transparent funding n disclosing its list of donors. BJP trying to terrorize our donors. Fair?”

For the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party has been raising funds by hosting lunches and dinners. At Sunday’s luncheon in the capital, over Rs.50 lakh was collected.

The AAP’s source of funding has been questioned earlier as well with the United Progressive Alliance also ordering a probe into its funding.

(IANS)

Black money: AAP attacks government over selective names

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File Photo

File Photo

New Delhi: The AAP Monday accused the central government of being “selective” in revealing names of foreign bank account holders, asking it to make public all those with money stashed abroad.

Addressing a press conference here, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal said the government was not disclosing all the names because they knew the list contained the “names of those who are close to the Bharatiya Janata Party”.

In its affidavit to the Supreme Court, the government revealed the names of three individuals – Pradip Burman, director of the Burman Group, Pankaj Chimanlal Lodya, a Rajkot-based bullion trader and Radha S Timblo, a Goa-based miner and owner of Timblo Pvt Ltd – while alleging they had funds in bank accounts abroad over which proceedings had been initiated for tax evasion.

Kejriwal said: “On Nov 9, 2012, we had disclosed the statements made by three individuals – namely Parminder Singh Kalra, Vikram Dhirani and Praveen Sawhney – before Income Tax authorities, when their premises were raided.”

He asked: “These three individuals admitted to the offence. Surprisingly, their names do not appear in the list of three people whose names have been disclosed by the finance ministry today. Why?”

He added: “Today, the BJP government has disclosed three names, one of which happens to be Pradeep Burman. This name was there in the list disclosed by us two years back and hence, it further validates our earlier disclosure.”

Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan had addressed a press conference on 9th November 2012, in which it was disclosed that the following names feature in this list:

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, Motech Software Private Ltd (Reliance Group company), Reliance Industries Ltd, Sandeep Tandon, Anu Tandon, Kokila Dhirubhai Ambani, Naresh Kumar Goyal, Burmans (3 family members), Yashovardhan Birla.

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