AAP cries councillor 'kidnapped'; BJP rubbishes claim
New Delhi, Sep 1: The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday accused the BJP of "kidnapping" its councillor Ram Chander, with the saffron party denying the charges even as the "abducted" member returned to his residence.
Upon his return, Chander claimed that he was threatened on the pretext of being framed in ED-CBI cases by the opposition outfit.
Ram Chander, who is a councillor from Ward No 28, was one of the five members who joined the BJP last Sunday. However, a few days later, he had a change of heart after he saw Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in his dream and returned to AAP, he said.
Later, in a video message, he said that he was taken by some people to BJP headquarters.
"There they threatened me saying I would be framed by ED and CBI. My son Akash called the police helpline while our senior party leaders called the police commissioner. When they (BJP) got to know about it, they sent me back home," Chander said in the video message.
"I want to tell BJP, I am not scared of ED and CBI. I have done nothing wrong. I am a soldier of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal," he said in the video shared by AAP.
On Sunday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh shared a video of Ram Chander's son Akash on X alleging that his father had been kidnapped.
In the video, Akash says, "My father received a call from an ex-councillor of BJP saying, 'We are standing downstairs near your house to meet you'. My father went downstairs to his office. What we have learnt is that there were four to five people, who threatened my father that he would be implicated by ED-CBI and they have taken him. We are searching for him."
Reacting to Singh's post, senior party leader Manish Sisodia reiterated the charges levelled by Akash.
Taking to X, AAP MLA and MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak accused the BJP of "making a mockery of law and order" in Delhi.
"Councillor Ram Chander ji from Aam Aadmi Party was kidnapped by BJP councillor ... along with his goons and no one knows where they have taken Ramchand ji.
"We are giving this warning to the entire Bharatiya Janata Party that if Ram Chander ji is not brought back to his home in the next one to one-and-a-half hours, we will create such an uproar that the entire BJP will be shaken," Pathak said on X in Hindi.
Hitting back, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor accused Sisodia and the AAP MCD in-charge of "lies" and "sensationalism".
"Whether councillor Ram Chander is in your party or not, we are not bothered. It is certain that he is sitting at his residence while you are spreading rumours," Kapoor reacted in a post on X in Hindi.
In the lead-up to the zonal ward committee elections of MCD on September 4, both AAP and BJP have claimed that councillors from the other side are ready to switch allegiance and defect from one party to another.
VIDEO | “Five to six people arrived at my house in the morning today. They forcibly put me in their car and took me to BJP’s office. There they threatened me saying I would be framed by ED and CBI. My son called the police helpline while our senior party leaders called the police… pic.twitter.com/s4ItE2QAr6
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 1, 2024
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LIVE | Election Results of five states 2026
New Delhi: The countdown has begun for the counting of votes for the Assembly elections in five states that have captured the attention of people across the country.
The counting of votes for the Assembly constituencies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry will begin simultaneously at 8 am, and the fate of candidates in a total of 824 constituencies will be decided shortly.
The counting of postal ballots will take place first, followed by the counting of EVM votes in several rounds.
► In Kerala’s Kasaragod constituency, UDF candidate Kallatra Mahin Haji is leading by 4,177 votes over NDA candidate M. L. Ashwini
► ADMK leader in Tamil Nadu, followed by TVK, DMK takes third spot. PMK, CPI, Congress lead in one seat each
► In West Bengal, TMC is leading in 111 seats, while BJP is leading in 119 seats.
► Vijay’s TVK leading in over 80 seats in Tamil Nadu, emerges as single largest party in early trends
► In Assam, BJP is leading in 71 seats, while Congress is leading in 26 seats.
► Kerala: UDF leading in 21 seats, LDF second, leading in 11
► Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala faces a setback in Kerala’s Haripad constituency
► Thrissur: Congress’ Rajan J Pallan leading with 6,460 votes; CPI candidate Alankode Leelakrishnan second with 5113 votes
► Out of 294 seats in West Bengal, BJP is leading in 109, TMC in 89, Congress in 5, others in one seat.
► DMK candidate in Thiruchirapalli KN Nehru behind TVK's G Ramamoorthi by 292 votes
► The BJP has taken an early lead in West Bengal, while Mamata Banerjee faces tough competition
► TVK head Vijay leads in Perambur constituency
► M. K. Stalin is leading in Tamil Nadu’s Kolathur constituency.
► AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami is leading in Tamil Nadu’s Edappadi constituency
► In Puducherry, BJP is leading in 3 seats.
► In Assam, BJP is leading in 56 seats, while Congress is leading in 12 seats.
► Suvendhu Adhikari leads in both Bhabanipur and Nandigram
► West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee faces setback in Bhabanipur constituency
► Bhupen Borah, who recently left Congress and joined the BJP, is leading in Assam’s Bihpuria constituency
► Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is leading in Jalukabari constituency
► BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari is leading in West Bengal’s Nandigram constituencyFive-state elections: Postal vote counting begins
► TMC, BJP lead in one seat each in West Bengal
► In Tamil Nadu, DMK leads in 3 constituencies, while TVK leads in 1
► UDF leads in 5 seats in Kerala, BJP in 1, LDF in 1
► BJP leads in 2 seats, AIUDF in 1 in Assam
► AINRC leads in 1 constituency in Puducherry
► TMC leads in 5 seats in West Bengal; Mamata Banerjee’s party maintains initial lead
► Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin leads in Kolathur
► BJP takes early lead in Assam
► Congress-led UDF leads in Kerala
► Tamil Nadu, TVK chief Vijay leads in the Perambur constituency, lags in Tiruchirappalli South
► BJP leads in 10 seats in Assam
► LDF candidate V.P.P. Mustafa leads in the Thrikkaripur Assembly constituency
► Out of 294 seats in West Bengal, BJP is leading in 14 seats, TMC in 12 seats, Congress in 2 seats
► Out of 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading in 15 seats, AIADMK is leading in 5 seats, TVK is leading in 2 seats
► Out of 126 seats in Assam, BJP is leading in 31 seats, Congress in 4 seats, AIUDF in 2 seats.
► Out of 30 seats in Puducherry, NRC+ is leading in 3 seats, Congress in 2 seats, TVK in 1 seat.
► Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury suffers a setback in theBerhampore constituency in West Bengal.
