AAP leader Somnath Bharti has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court contesting the election of BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj in the Lok Sabha polls held in 2024. The petition, submitted on Saturday, accuses Swaraj of engaging in ‘corrupt practices’ during the election, news agency PTI reported.
Justice Manmeet PS Arora is scheduled to hear the case on July 22. Bharti’s petition challenges Swaraj’s victory in the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency, where Swaraj secured 4,53,185 votes against Bharti’s 3,74,815, according to the returning officer’s count.
The plea, filed under Sections 80 and 81 of the Representation of the People Act, alleges that Swaraj, her election agent, and other associates were involved in corrupt practices.
“They both contested from the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency and Swaraj was declared as 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 said, as per PTI.
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Bharti’s petition claims that Raaj Kumar Anand, who initially appeared to be a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate but was allegedly backed by the BJP, played a role in undermining his campaign. Anand, who was a minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, resigned from AAP on April 10, 2024, and contested the election on a BSP ticket to siphon off votes from Bharti, the petition claims.
Anand joined the BJP on July 10, 2024, after the elections.
The petition further alleges that on election day, May 5, 2024, Bharti observed booth agents for Swaraj distributing pamphlets featuring Swaraj’s ballot number, photo, election symbol, and an image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This, the petition claims, constituted a corrupt practice intended to mislead voters. Despite reporting this issue to the returning officer, no action was taken, the plea asserts, as per PTI.
