When it comes to launching campaigns to attract people's attention, the Aam Aadmi Party has been prompt with innovative ideas. Delhi voters started receiving calls on their registered cell phones saying their names have been stuck off the voters' list, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was working to get that restored.
The alarmist calls, which started in December, took many Delhites by surprise. Even more alarming was the realisation that mobile numbers, accessible only to the Election Commission, are available to political parties. The AAP claimed they had sourced the list of 30 lakh voters from the Election Commission. As the date of voters list registrations ended, residents again started receiving calls from the AAP saying that their names have been restored.
Delhi, for the past five years, has been witnessing triangular contest between the AAP, BJP and the Congress, with the grand old party being relegated to the third position. Being a smaller state, with limited geographical area, the electoral battle is even more sharp as every vote counts. Delhi votes on May 12.
Predictably, the BJP was up in arms against the AAP for launching this exercise ahead of the polls. The latest round of trouble started when Delhi Police, on the basis of a complaint filed by the BJP, started raiding the call centres from where these calls were made. The police had registered a case to probe how these call centres procured the data which otherwise should have been the domain of the Election Commission.
Also Read
- Excise policy case: Delhi Court extends remand of Kejriwal, BRS leader Kavitha till May 7
- Delhi HC imposes Rs 75,000 costs on petitioner seeking ‘extraordinary interim bail’ for Kejriwal
- International media witnessing how Centre is conspiring to kill Kejriwal: Saurabh Bharadwaj
- ‘Kejriwal stopped taking insulin months before arrest’: Tihar jail report to Delhi L-G
- Excise policy case: Delhi court reserves order on bail pleas of Manish Sisodia
The AAP accused the Modi government of misusing Delhi Police to arm-twist the call centres. The Delhi's ruling party even staged protests against the police action. It knocked on Election Commission's door, demanding that the police be kept out of the probe as it was intimidating the call centre workers.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, along with the party's Lok Sabha candidates, petitioned the Election Commission on Friday. He said his party was making calls to the voters to make them aware of the possible malpractice, and taking action against the hired private call centres is wrong.
For political watchers, any action against the AAP would mean the party drawing political mileage out of it, claiming it is targeted for being the protector of people's rights. All controversies are not bad; many help the political parties trying to stay on top of voters' mind during the election season. The AAP is also conducting its campaign to get full statehood for Delhi that will allow the state government control over the land and the police.
Now, its up to the Election Commission to decide on the matter. The police is also likely to continue its probe. Although this particular campaign had come to an end, the AAP would require the help of the call centres for further campaigning till the election season was over in May.
