AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday hit out at the exit poll predictions, labelling them ‘fake survey’. The former Delhi Chief Minister took to X and alleged that in the last two hours, 16 AAP candidates have received calls that if they leave AAP and join BJP, the saffron party will make them ministers and will give Rs15 crores to each of them. Kejriwal questioned, “If his party (BJP) is getting more than 55 seats then what is the need for him to call our candidates?”
“Some agencies are showing that the abusive party is getting more than 55 seats. Obviously these fake surveys have been conducted with the sole purpose of creating this atmosphere to break down some candidates. But you abusive people, not even one of our men will break down”, Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi referring to BJP as ‘Gaali-Galoj Party’.
Earlier, Rajya Sabha MP accused the BJP for launching ‘‘Operation Lotus’—an attempt to buy party MLAs for Rs 15 crore each to engineer defections, prompting the saffron outfit to demand his apology and threaten him with legal action.
Without revealing the names of the candidates, Singh said in a press conference that seven of them received phone calls from the BJP, a day after the 70-member Delhi Legislative Assembly went to polls, offering each of them Rs 15 crore to join the BJP.
This comes a day after the voting concluded. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said in a statement that Singh should either retract his allegations and tender an apology or face legal action. Singh's allegation is an indication of his frustration over the imminent defeat of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates in the Delhi election, he said.
"Singh should not forget that his party leader and the Delhi chief minister is facing a defamation case over her false allegations, similar to those levelled by him," Sachdeva said.
Addressing a press conference, Singh said "Some were even offered in face-to-face meetings”. "This clearly shows that the BJP has accepted its defeat before the results, and that is why it is trying something like this," he added. "The BJP has accepted its defeat even before the counting of votes, and like the rest of the country, the BJP has started the politics of breaking parties in Delhi as well," Singh said.
He mentioned that the party has advised its candidates to record such calls and use spy cameras to document any face-to-face meetings if the offers are made.
Singh said the BJP, known for undermining democracy, engaging in horse-trading of legislators, and toppling governments, has already conceded defeat in the Delhi elections.
He further stated, “Since this morning, we have been in discussions with our MLAs and candidates, and several of them have informed me that they have received offers.” Singh said in response to this, AAP has instructed all the candidates, including sitting MLAs and new contenders, to remain alert.
“We have specifically directed them to record all such calls and formally report them. Additionally, if anyone approaches them in person with such an offer, they should secretly record a video using a hidden camera, and share this evidence with the media and the public,” he said.
