Delhi Elections: AAP Chief Kejriwal Alleges Poaching Attempt Ahead Of Poll Results; BJP Threatens Legal Action

Right before the results of the Delhi Assembly Elections on February 8, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday accused the BJP of attempting to poach his party candidates. The BJP however refuted the allegation and threatened legal action.

Rejecting the allegations, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva termed this a sign of the AAP's "frustration" over an impending electoral defeat.

"Sanjay Singh should either retract his allegations and tender an apology or face legal action," Sachdeva said in a statement. "He should not forget that his party leader, (former) Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, is already facing a defamation case for making similar false allegations."

Voting across all the 70 assembly seats in the national capital took place on Wednesday. The results on Saturday will determine whether the AAP secures a third consecutive term in power or if the BJP's 27-year wait to rule the capital comes to an end.

What Did Kejriwal Say?

Taking it to X, Kejriwal on Thursday claimed that 16 AAP candidates had received offers from the BJP with the promise of ministerial positions and rupees 15 crore each if they switched sides.

"Some agencies are showing that the abusive party (BJP) is getting more than 55 seats. In the last two hours, 16 of our candidates have received calls that if they leave the AAP and join their party, they will be made ministers and given Rs 15 crore each," Kejriwal said in his post in Hindi on the microblogging platform.

"If they are indeed winning more than 55 seats, why are they calling up our candidates? These fake surveys are a conspiracy to create an atmosphere to break AAP candidates. But not a single one of them will switch sides," he asserted.

Echoing similar sentiment, AAP candidate from Sultanpur Majra and Delhi minister Mukesh Ahlawat said he was approached with such an offer.

"I may die, I may be cut into pieces, but I will never abandon Arvind Kejriwal," Ahlawat said in a post on X. "I was told that their government is being formed and they will make me a minister and give me Rs 15 crore if I leave the AAP and join them. But the respect that Kejriwal and the AAP have given me, I will never leave my party till my death," he added.

On Thursday, AAP leader Sanjay Singh leveled the poaching allegations at a press conference, claiming that seven party MLAs had received calls or were approached in person with offers from BJP leaders.

"This clearly shows that the BJP has accepted its defeat even before the results and is now resorting to such tactics," the Rajya Sabha MP said.

Singh, however, maintained that the AAP has advised its candidates to record such calls and use spy cameras to document what transpires in any face-to-face meeting regarding poaching attempts.

Chief Minister Atishi also weighed in on the issue.

"If the abusive party (BJP) is getting more than 50 seats, then why are they trying to break our candidates by contacting them?" she asked in a post on X.

Atishi claimed that the exit polls predicting a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) victory in Delhi are a "conspiracy" aimed at demoralising AAP candidates.