AAP leader Somnath Bharti approached the Delhi High Court has recently challenged the election of BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, alleging corrupt practices. Justice Manmeet PS Arora is scheduled to hear the petition on July 22.
According to the plea, Bharti received 3,74,815 votes, while Swaraj secured 4,53,185 votes, as reported by the returning officer. Both candidates contested from the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency, and Swaraj was declared the winner.
“The present election petition is being filed by the petitioner (Bharti) under Section 80 and 81 of the Representation of the People Act challenging the election of the respondent no.1 (Swaraj) as a Member of House of the people from the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency on the grounds of ‘corrupt practices’ indulged into by the respondent no.1, her election agent, and other persons with the consent of the respondent during the course of the Lok Sabha election 2024 held on May 25, 2024,” the plea stated.
The plea further alleged that former AAP minister Raaj Kumar Anand, who contested as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate, was actually set up by Swaraj’s party to undermine Bharti’s chances. Anand, who was active in campaigning for Bharti until April 9, resigned from AAP on April 10. He then contested the election under the Bahujan Samaj Party ticket to help Swaraj by dividing the vote share, and subsequently joined the BJP on July 10.
“On the election day, that is, May 5, 2024, the petitioner, during his visits to different booths across New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency, was shocked to see that booth agents of the respondent no. 1 had her pamphlets displaying her ballot number, photo, election symbol and photo of PM Sri Narendra Modi and was showing the same to the voters who had lined up in the booth to vote and asking them to vote for Ballot no.1 and such an act certainly qualifies to be a corrupt practice. This was also reported to the respondent no. 3 (returning officer) but all in vain,” the plea claimed.
