Kejriwal accuses BJP of 'voter deletion' conspiracy ahead of Delhi assembly polls
New Delhi, Dec 6: AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday accused the BJP of orchestrating large-scale deletions of voters' names from the electoral rolls in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections.
Kejriwal claimed that BJP leaders had submitted applications to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to remove thousands of voter names from constituencies like Shahdara, Janakpuri, and Laxmi Nagar.
Citing the example of Shahdara, Kejriwal alleged that the BJP had applied to delete 11,018 voter names from the constituency.
"When we randomly checked 500 of these names, we found that 75 percent of the people are still residing at the listed addresses. This is nothing but an attempt to manipulate the electoral process,” he said.
The AAP leader connected the alleged deletions to the saffron party's narrow victory in Shahdara during the 2020 Assembly elections, where AAP won by a margin of just 5,294 votes.
He argued that removing 11,000 voters -- about 6 per cent of the total electorate in the constituency -- could significantly affect the outcome.
Meanwhile, the district magistrate of Shahdara refuted Kejriwal’s claims in a post on X, stating, “Only 494 Form 7 (deletion application) requests have been received in the Shahdara constituency since October 29, 2024. The claim of 11,018 deletion requests is factually incorrect.”
To support his allegations, Kejriwal presented several individuals at the press conference, whose names he claimed were targeted for deletion.
"These voters are alive and continue to live at the same addresses listed on the voter rolls. For instance, Upendra Kumar resides at A-334, Uma Devi at B-8 Ambedkar Nagar, and Sunil Kumar at B-326," he said.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva dismissed Kejriwal' allegations as “baseless” and accused AAP of shielding fraudulent voters.
"Rohingyas and Bangladeshis are being caught, and Kejriwal is panicking because this vote bank, funded by money he allegedly receives from foreign sources, is being exposed," Sachdeva said.
"The greatest strength of Indian democracy is free speech, but the baseless comments made against constitutional institutions need to be examined."
Kejriwal also accused the ECI of "secretly processing deletion requests without transparency." He called for all deletion applications to be published on the ECI website and demanded a halt to deletions initiated after October 18.
There was no immediate response from the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer regarding the allegations.
Terming the voter deletions a "conspiracy to disenfranchise citizens," Kejriwal said, "The BJP knows it is losing the elections, which is why it is resorting to such unfair tactics."
He warned of legal action against officials involved in any irregularities.
The Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February, are crucial for AAP, which is seeking a third consecutive term after securing a landslide victory in 2020, winning 62 out of 70 seats.
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
