Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti on Saturday moved to the Delhi High Court challenging the election result at the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency in which he lost to BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj. In his plea, Bharti has alleged that Bansuri was elected as a member of Parliament on grounds of alleged 'corrupt practices'. He has sought direction from the High Court for the concerned Returning Officer, calling for records about the elections held in the New Delhi parliamentary constituency elections which were held on May 25, 2024.
Bansuri set Raaj Kumar Anand up: Bharti
Bharti's plea gave details about the elections and their outcomes and claimed that Raaj Kumar Anand, who contested on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket was a candidate set up by Bansuri Swaraj against the petitioner as Raaj Kumar Anand was a minister in the Aam Aadmi Party's government in Delhi and was active in campaigning for the petitioner till April 9, 2024, but suddenly on April 10, 2024, he resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party.
The petition also claimed that Anand resigned from his ministry because of the misuse of agencies like ED, CBI, and IT against him, the petition claimed. Moreover, Bharti's petition claimed that on inquiry, Raaj Kumar Anand accepted that he was under massive pressure from the investigating agencies and could even have been arrested and therefore had no option but to resign. On May 6, 2024, Raaj Kumar Anand filed his nomination as an MP candidate from the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency on the ticket of the Bahujan Samaj Party, the plea added.
Bharti accuses BSP
Accusing the BSP, Bharti stated that in line with the practice adopted by the Bahujan Samaj Party across India, Raaj Kumar Anand was set up by the BJP to help Bansuri win by cutting his votes. On July 10, 2024, Raaj Kumar Anand formally joined the BJP, i.e., the party of Bansuri Swaraj, confirming the real intent of Raaj Kumar Anand's leaving AAP.
Notably, in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, Bansuri Swaraj defeated Bharti by a margin of over 78,000 votes. Bansuri garnered 4,53,185 votes while Somnath Bharti polled 3,74,815 votes. The Delhi High Court has listed the matter for hearing on Monday. The bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Arora will hear the petition.
(With ANI Inputs)
ALSO READ | New Delhi Election Results 2024: Bansuri Swaraj wins by margin of over 78,000 votes
