New Delhi, Jan 15, 2025, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, Jan 15: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal filed his nomination on Wednesday from New Delhi Assembly constituency, urging people to vote based on work and not "abuses".
"AAP will form the government with full majority," the 56-year-old politician told reporters, after filing his papers.
Attacking the BJP, Kejriwal said the saffron party has no vision, no chief ministerial face and no narrative.
He led a 'padyatra' from the AAP office to the New Delhi district magistrate's office, where he filed his nomination. Hundreds of AAP workers, carrying party flags, walked with the former chief minister, who earlier offered prayers at Hanuman and Valmiki temples. He was accompanied by his wife Sunita.
On reports about a threat to his life from a pro-Khalistani outfit, the AAP leader said God was with him. "Jako rakhe saiyan maar sake na koye (Those protected by God cannot be killed by anyone). God is with me. One lives as long as their lifeline. The day one's lifeline ends, God calls them," he told mediapersons after offering prayers at the famous Prachin Hanuman temple at Connaught Place.
His remarks assume significance in the wake of intelligence reports that a hit squad of two to three operatives, last tracked in Punjab, may be en route Delhi to target Kejriwal, a 'Z-plus' protectee, during the upcoming Assembly polls in the national capital.
Sources said a pro-Khalistan group, allegedly backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is behind the plot, which aims to disrupt harmony and law and order in Delhi and Punjab. "This is based on human intelligence," they said.
The latest threat has prompted authorities to step up round-the-clock surveillance to avert any potential attack.
In a related development, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has granted sanction to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute Kejriwal in a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy.
Officials said the federal agency filed a charge sheet against him before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here last year, after arresting him in March.
Kejriwal is currently out on bail in the case that pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, which was subsequently scrapped.
Hours after MHA's prosecution sanction against Kejriwal, the AAP dubbed it as "misuse" of power by the BJP and an attempt to defame the ruling party ahead of the Delhi elections.
"What we are witnessing is an unprecedented case in the country's history where the then chief minister, and convener of a national party ruling in two states, was jailed without a sanction, only to be granted bail by the courts," the AAP, which is in power in Delhi and Punjab, said in a statement.
"The BJP's misuse of agencies is evident to everyone. This shows the extent of power misuse, especially with elections around the corner," the party said, referring to the Supreme Court's observation that the ED-CBI were being used like "caged parrots" while the PMLA court "clearly noted" that there was "no evidence" against Kejriwal.
Kejriwal, who has held the New Delhi seat since 2013, was arrested by the ED on March 21, 2024, and released from jail after SC granted him bail in September last year.
Hitting back at Kejriwal, the BJP said that he was resorting to diversionary tactics to hide his failures.
"The former Delhi CM is set to lose from the New Delhi constituency," BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed, asserting that the saffron party is set to get majority in the Delhi assembly polls.
The high-profile New Delhi seat is poised for an interesting triangular contest that will see BJP's Parvesh Verma and Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit -- both of whom are sons of former chief ministers Saheb Singh Verma and Sheila Dikshit, respectively -- crossing swords with Kejriwal in the ring.
Voting for the 70-member Delhi Assembly is scheduled to be held on February 5 and counting of votes will be taken up on February 8.