AAP volunteers claim candidates not honest, voting process rigged

New Delhi, Sept 30: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), that supported the Supreme Court's decision on voters' right to reject candidates, got a taste of its own medicine, when some party volunteers from Uttam Nagar constituency protested against AAP's decision to choose Deshraj Raghav.

AAP party volunteers are on a dharna and claimed that most of the volunteers had opted for the 'none of the above' option during the preferential elections from among the short listed candidates. But the party failed to address their disapproval.

"The original list of volunteers had just 47 names. The party office beareres who came to conduct the voting then added 24 names , after which they took the ballot boxes and Raghav's name was declared," Deepak Kumar Choudhary, a local volunteer alleged.

Some volunteers alleged that Raghav had filed an affidavit before the Lokayukta wherein he had agreed that there were four kerosene oil depots in his and his family's name. They also alleged that he had been associated with Mukesh Sharma, MLA from the area for a very long time.

Raacting to the allegations, AAP spokesperson Manish Sisodia rubbished the corruption allegation as an excuse and said that the candidate designate did not have any ration shop now.

Manish Sisodia rubbishes corruption allegations, says candidates are clean

"There was one ration shop in his wife's name which they had surrendered in 2011. Other allegations against his father's pension and the way the voting was conducted are all false," Sisodia said.

Instead Sisodia blamed Sharma and said that he was behind these protests. "These men are from Sharma's camp. They are afraid that Deshraj will win the seat," he said.

The volunteers have refused to budge and say that they will produce concrete proof of corruption against him. They claim that the candidates were not chosen with the consent of the local volunteers, which is what party leader Arvind Kejriwal had initially promised them.

OneIndia News