Delhi

Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi on Friday said that around 55,000 police officers will be deployed on duty tomorrow for the single-phase polling to elect the next Delhi Assembly.

“Our deployment on booth labels will begin from this evening. In some areas, we have already beefed up the patrolling pickets. Estimated 55,000 police officers of Delhi Police will be on duty tomorrow. Additional CAPF (Central Armed Police Force) will also be there on the roads,” Bassi said.

A day before polling begins in the city, Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal, chief ministerial aspirants of the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party respectively, took to unwinding after a hectic campaigning spree.
While Kejriwal started his day by performing yoga and later visiting his local saloon for a haircut, Bedi prepared a ‘langar’ at a Gurudwara in Krishna Nagar, from where she is fighting the polls this time.

She also stated that she would celebrate with her party’s workers later in the day.

The Aam Aadmi Party today took on BJP for its front page advertisement in various newspapers listing the achievements of the Narendra Modi government and asking people to vote for it in the Assembly polls tomorrow, saying it is violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

“Today Delhi has seen that every paper has a front page advertisement given by BJP. In my opinion this is clear-cut violation of the EC guidelines and the Model Code of Conduct,” AAP leader Ashutosh told reporters.

The Delhi Catholic Archdiocese on Friday said it was a good thing that US President Barack Obama had talked about Mahatma Gandhi and not any specific religion, after Obama mentioned that acts of religious intolerance in India in the past few years would have shocked the Father of the Nation.

Sunanda Pushkar’s son Shiv Menon was today questioned by the SIT in connection with her mysterious death even as the police are likely to question former Union minister Shashi Tharoor and his domestic help again to reconstruct the chain of events in the case.

Menon reached the Special Investigation Team (SIT) office in South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj at around 1.20 PM this afternoon and the questioning continued till late in the evening. Police sources said that Menon was asked how the relationship was between Tharoor and Sunanda.

The Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce its order on Friday on the appeal challenging the sentencing of Uttar Pradesh politician DP Yadav’s son Vikas Yadav and two others, whose conviction in the Nitish Katara murder case has already been upheld.

Vikas, his cousin Vishal Yadav and Sukhdev Pehelwan are serving life term for abducting and killing Katara, a business executive and the son of an IAS officer, on the night of February 16-17, 2002, as they opposed the victim’s affair with Bharti, daughter of DP Yadav.

Chief Election Commissioner Hari Shankar Brahma has said all arrangements are in place for free and fair polling in Delhi tomorrow.

The All India Radio quoted Brahma, as saying in an interview that voters would exercise their franchise safely and in well secured electronic voting booths.

Campaigning for the Assembly elections ended yesterday evening. A total of 673 candidates, including 63 women, are in the race to get elected to the 70-member Delhi Assembly.

As Christians took to streets of Delhi over recent attacks on churches, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today promised to step up security at their religious places amid his assertion that any discrimination on the basis of religion will not be tolerated.

He said an impartial inquiry has been ordered into the recent incidents as a delegation of Christian leaders met him to say that five churches were attacked in the last two and a half months in Delhi and holy relics and holy communion were destroyed but police was doing nothing.

The Delhi Metro will start operations at 4 a.m. on February 7, the day of polling for the Delhi Assembly elections.

Trains will run at an interval of 30 minutes till 5-30 a.m. on all its lines. The trains will start running as per the normal schedule after 5-30 a.m.

Announcements in this regard are being made in the metro trains as well as on station premises.

— PTI

Police today claimed to have busted a notorious ‘knock-knock’ gang with the arrest of nine of their south India-based members from the national capital.

All the members hail from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu and they were arrested while they were coming here after committing a series of thefts in Chandigarh.

The modus operandi of such gangs is to divert attention of occupants of a car by knocking on the window pane or throwing currency notes on the ground and then lift bags or other items from the car.

Delhi Metro will start operations at 4 AM on February 7, the day of polling for Delhi Assembly elections.

Trains will run at an interval of 30 minutes till 5.30 AM on all its lines. The frequency will increase and trains will start running as per the normal schedule after 5.30 AM.

The Election Commission (EC) has been carrying out an awareness campaign targeting people commuting on the metro with an aim to encourage them to vote in the Assembly polls.

Announcements in this regard are being made in the trains as well as on station premises.

As campaign for the one of fiercest electoral battles in the city came to an end, Aam Aadmi Party today exuded confidence of getting a “clear majority” and said the verdict of the election could very well turn out to be a “turning point” in Indian politics.

AAP said BJP was nervous about losing the election and that it will be a sort of test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity as he has led the party’s campaign.

With Delhi getting ready to elect its new representatives from all 70 assembly constituencies Feb 7, the entire polling machinery was “fully prepared” to ensure a smooth election, a top election official said Thursday.

Addressing a press conference here, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Chandra Kumar Bhushan said the national capital was fully ready to go to polls.

“We are ready. Entire polling staff, security staff, observers and others are fully prepared for the election,” he said.

The Forum for Democracy and Communal Amity, an organisation that includes some noted citizens, Thursday appealed to the people of Delhi to vote for a party committed to maintaining communal harmony and providing food security.

In a release, the forum, which has former foreign secretary Muchkund Dubey as its president, said social and economic rights earned by people after long struggle were in the process of being diluted and abrogated.

The signatories to the appeal included Justice (retd) Rajinder Sachar, journalist Kuldip Nayar and activist Swami Agnivesh.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls, Kiran Bedi, on Thursday stated that she has identified development and women’s empowerment as key priorities for the national capital.

Bedi took to twitter to share her views.

“My 2 key priorities .1 Nari Ka Samman, Sab kaa Samman.. 2 Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas.,” she posted.

With just few hours left for the campaigning to end for the high-voltage Delhi Assembly polls, several surveys have given a slight edge to the Arvind Kejriwal- led AAP and placed the BJP at the second spot.

Scores of people from Christian community today staged a protest here seeking action against those involved in the recent spate of “attacks” on churches in Delhi.

During the protests outside the Sacred Heart Cathedral in central Delhi, few people were detained by police for alleged violation of prohibitory orders.

The Dera Sacha Sauda sect, headed by controversial spiritual leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, on Thursday pledged its support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Delhi Assembly polls.

“The members and the voters in Delhi have decided to extend support to the BJP. When the Haryana elections were held, support was extended just two days before the elections, same is being done,” said Pradeep Insa, head of the political wing of Dera Sacha Sauda.

A huge protest was held here on Thursday over the series of attacks on churches in the national capital. Shouting slogans for justice, agitators demanded immediate action against those responsible for the attacks.

“Since December, our churches are being attacked, and this is injustice towards us. Our churches are being desecrated. There is so much violence against us and the administration and police is not taking any action,” said Gary, a protester.

Cashing in on AAP’s funding controversy, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi today said AAP is a “misleading” party which has been “exposed”.

“They have been exposed. Those people can’t understand themselves where all this money is coming from, they are in no position to give answers now! These people are misleading, from now on tell these people our sister, mother, daughter is coming,” Bedi said at a rally in Narela.

The former IPS officer dawned her tough cop avatar at a rally in Bawana, and said she knew the area well which is thronging with problems.

The Election Commission Wednesday allayed fears about tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the Feb 7 Delhi assembly polls, saying it has put in place elaborate administrative measures.

“It is reiterated that the commission has put in place elaborate administrative measures and procedural checks and balances aimed at prevention of any possible misuse of procedural lapses,” the commission said in a statement.

The Election Commission Wednesday termed as “totally incorrect and unacceptable” AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s contention that electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the Feb 7 Delhi assembly polls have been tampered with.
“Your comments about tampering of four EVMs in 38-Delhi Cantt assembly constituency is totally incorrect and unacceptable. The commission expected you to ascertain the correct facts on EVMs before making the comment on social media,” the poll panel said in a letter to Kejriwal.

The Election Commission Wednesday termed as “totally incorrect and unacceptable” AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s contention that electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the Feb 7 Delhi assembly polls have been tampered with.

“Your comments about tampering of four EVMs in 38-Delhi Cantt assembly constituency is totally incorrect and unacceptable. The commission expected you to ascertain the correct facts on EVMs before making the comment on social media,” the poll panel said in a letter to Kejriwal.

The women’s wing of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) organised a bike rally led by actor-turned-politician Gul Panag here on Wednesday ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections.

This bike rally was organised in Krishna Nagar assembly constituency from where Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi is contesting the elections.

AAP supporters from across the country converged in the capital to take part in the rally.

Panag, who led the rally riding her trademark Bullet bike, said it was an important display of female emancipation.

Over 60,000 policemen and paramilitary personnel will be deployed to conduct free and fair Delhi Assembly Elections on February 7.

Paramilitary forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force, will be in charge of internal security at 11,763 polling stations in 70 assembly segments across Delhi. Home guards will also be deployed at the polling stations.

The number of sensitive polling stations has increased from 677 in 2013 to 695 this year of which 173 are highly critical.

BJP’s chief ministerial nominee Kiran Bedi, known for her image as a tough police officer, on Wednesday turned emotional while addressing a roadshow and said she will return the people’s love by serving them.

Overwhelmed with the affection of people who had got tea flasks for her at the roadshow in Krishnanagar constituency from where she is contesting her maiden election, Bedi broke down and was seen wiping her tears.