Delhi tense as AAP plans protest against alleged Chandigarh mayoral poll rigging

Mayoral polls in the Indian city ofChandigarh, where BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar secured a win, have triggered a political slugfest, which reverberated in the capital city of Delhi as well. After Aam Aadmi Party's Kuldeep Kumar lost the polls, AAP has resolved to protest against the results it deems rigged on Friday (Feb 2).

In view of the evolving situation, Delhi Police is on high alert, and security measures are tightened around the ITO area in anticipation of potential clashes between AAP and BJP.

As tensions rise, the Delhi Police also detained 25 AAP leaders at the Singhu border while also placing several others under house arrest. AAP has planned to hold protests outside the BJP headquarters in Delhi over the alleged electoral malpractice in the Chandigarh mayoral polls.

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Raising questions, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote on X social media platform,"All across Del, they are detaining elected MLAs, councilors and volunteers who were coming to the party office. What is this going on?"

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Meanwhile, a Delhi Police spokesperson said that the people who were arrested by the authorities are suspected party workers hailing from the states of Punjab and Haryana intending to hold protestseven after permission was not given for demonstrations.

Simultaneously, heavy security measures have also been implemented in various parts of Delhi as the BJP also announced its intention to stage a demonstration near the AAP office. They are protesting against the alleged corruption by the Arvind Kejriwal administration.

AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar condemned the preventive measures, stating, "The BJP is so afraid that it is stopping us from carrying out a peaceful protest. Our leaders are being put under house arrest. This is very dangerous for democracy."

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann are expected to participate in the protests, as per media reports.

Kejriwal to skip ED summons

The political turmoil further deepens as Kejriwal faced a summons from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday (Feb 2) in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.

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The AAP calls the summon 'unlawful' and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attempting to topple the Delhi government. The AAP's official statement said, "Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before ED today as well. The party calls the summon 'unlawful'. We will comply with the lawful summons. PM Modi's aim is to arrest Arvind Kejriwal and topple the Delhi Government. We will not allow this to happen."

The ongoing political confrontation has raised concerns, prompting the Delhi Policeto deploy nearly 1,000 personnel to maintain law and order.

(With inputs from agencies)