New Delhi, Jan 8 With barely a month left for the election for the 70-member Delhi Assembly and three major contenders -- the ruling AAP, BJP and the Congress -- gearing up to put up their best show, a veteran leader of the grand old party and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday claimed that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party will return to power for the third consecutive time.
Chavan's mega-assertion came a day after the Election Commission of India announced February 5 as the day of polls, while it scheduled February 8 as the date of counting of ballots. During an interaction with IANS, Chavan also rued that the Congress and the AAP -- who contested the Lok Sabha polls last year together -- have now parted ways.
Prithviraj Chavan, speaking to IANS, said: "It would have been better had the Congress and AAP sealed a poll deal. It is an important election. Both parties are in the fray."
"I think Arvind Kejriwal-led party is in a solid position and will win the Delhi elections," he said in the same breath.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress, who were alliance partners in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, are contesting the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections separately. They not only snapped ties for the ensuing Assembly polls but are also firing pointed volleys at each other.
As the national capital braces for a three-cornered high-voltage contest, Chavan's remarks are bound to draw backlash from within the party as AAP will project this as ‘open admission of defeat’ and its role as ‘mere vote-cutter' in the Delhi elections by the tall Congress leader from Maharasthra.
The two parties are already in a state of political cross-fire, with Delhi Congress leaders hitting out at the ten-year ‘misrule’ of AAP dispensation and the latter clapping back.
Days ago, Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken launched an all-out offensive against AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal terming him anti-national while the AAP issued an ultimatum to the grand old party to issue an apology for the same. This has set the stage for a further fierce political fight between the two INDIA bloc allies.
Prithviraj Chavan also made a strong pitch for giving up the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and demanded a reversal to traditional ballot papers.
“One may argue that EVMs haven't been proven to be erroneous and inaccurate, but this doesn't rule out the possibility of them malfunctioning and rigging,” he said, citing the example of Germany.
The former Maharashtra CM claimed that, despite years of conducting polling through EVMs, the European country has reverted to the ballot papers.
Delhi is all set to undergo polling on February 5 and the counting of votes will take place on February 8.
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