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Kejriwal Says BJP Targets Slum Voters

He claimed that the BJP will use its goons and the Delhi police extensively to win the elections and will try to intimidate voters, especially those in slum areas.

New Delhi:As the high-octane electioneering for the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls came to a close on Monday, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said his party had distributed spy cameras and body cameras among people in the slum areas to capture “wrongdoings” and “electoral malpractices” by the BJP and its “goons”. He claimed that the BJP will use its goons and the Delhi police extensively to win the elections and will try to intimidate voters, especially those in slum areas.

Claiming in a video message that the AAP was heading for a historic victory and the BJP was facing its worst defeat in its existence and that was why it was resorting to "unfair tactics", Mr Kejriwal said: “We have distributed spy cameras and body cameras among people living in slum areas to capture the misdeeds of the BJP's goons. We have also formed multiple Quick Response Teams (QRTs) which will reach such locations within 15 minutes to prevent unconstitutional activities and ensure the perpetrators are arrested.”

The former Delhi chief minister alleged BJP workers would attempt to bribe slum-dwellers by offering `3,000-`5,000 and marking their fingers with black ink to prevent them from voting on election day. “Take their money, but do not let them put ink on your finger,” he urged voters.

Cautioning them against the alleged BJP manipulation, Mr Kejriwal claimed the party would demolish slums if it was voted to power. “Selling your votes would be like signing your own death warrant,” he said.

In his final address before Delhi goes to the polls, Mr Kejriwal, in a roadshow, called on all women to rally behind the party. He said: “Today at five o'clock, the campaign will come to an end. I have travelled throughout Delhi and have received tremendous support. I want to sincerely thank the people of Delhi. Many people have asked me several times in interviews and elsewhere: ‘How many seats will you get?’ Today I want to tell you that, in my opinion, we are getting fifty-five seats. However, if my mothers and sisters make a strong effort, we can reach sixty.”

Appealing to women voters, he said: “This election is for women. Every woman should go out and vote, and make the men of their house vote too. Each vote should be cast for the Aam Aadmi Party. We need to cross sixty. If all the women get involved, getting sixty seats will not be a big deal.”

Later, he also posted on X: “According to my estimate, the Aam Aadmi Party is getting 55 seats but if women go to vote and convince the men in their house to vote for the AAP, then we can get more than 60 seats.” Hitting out at the BJP, the AAP chief said: “Whatever they are saying is absurd. Be it New Delhi, Jangpura, or Kalkaji, all three seats will be won by the AAP with a historic margin.”

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann also held multiple roadshows on the last day of campaigning and encouraged people to vote for the AAP. He said Delhi will have to choose between education, development and women's upliftment on one side and "misconduct" on the other as they go out to vote on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the BJP’s political heavyweights held over 240 roadshows and rallies across the city, intensifying its bid to reclaim power in the capital after more than 25 years. Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and J.P. Nadda, among others, held the rallies on the last day to woo voters in polls. Prime Minister Naredra Modi had addressed five rallies as part of the party’s poll strategy.

In its bid to regain the lost ground, the Congress on its part pushed hard with the Gandhi siblings Rahul and Priyanka holding over a dozen rallies during the last week. The grand old party which ruled the capital for 15 years until 2013, ramped up its canvassing covered by a month long Nyay Yatra encompassing all the 70 seats and fielding bigwigs like Sandeep Dikshit, Devender Yadav and Alka Lamba, among others, on hot seats.

With a tally of 1,55,24,858 registered voters, the electoral campaign revolved around a war of narratives this time between the AAP, the BJP and the Congress, dominated by announcements of a bevy of poll sops besides personal attacks against the leaders of one party against the other.

The triangular electoral battle was marked by an unprecedented use of AI-generated spoofs, sharp political jibes, and high-decibel roadshows. The elections have turned into an intense war of words, with parties using catchy slogans and barbed attacks.

While the AAP branded the BJP as "Bharatiya Jhootha Party" (Indian Liar Party) and "Gali Galouch Party" (Abusive Party), Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit back by dubbing the AAP as "AAP-Daa" (disaster) and its chief Arvind Kejriwal as "Ghoshna Mantri" (Minister of Announcements). The Congress labeled Mr Kejriwal as "Farziwal" (Fake). With AI-generated memes and digital campaigns dominating the narrative, their fate will be sealed on Wednesday when the city goes to the polls.

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