Gehlot meets veteran BJP leader Suryakanta Vyas in Jodhpur, terms it 'courtesy visit'
Jodhpur (PTI): Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot sprang a surprise by meeting veteran BJP leader Suryakanta Vyas at her residence here late Monday.
Gehlot wrapped up his two-day campaign trail in Sardarpura constituency, from where he will be contesting the Assembly polls. He then reached the residence of Vyas in the walled city at around 12.30 am and stayed there for about 15 minutes.
Vyas is a three-time MLA from Soorsagar constituency, winning the polls in 2008, 2013, and 2018.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, ahead of his departure to join party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Jhunjhunu, Gehlot termed it a "courtesy visit" in recognition of her service to the people of Jodhpur.
"She has served Jodhpur for a long time. She has played a long inning. So, I visited her to give my respect to her," said Gehlot.
The BJP has dropped 85-year-old Vyas from its list of candidates for the November 25 polls, replacing her with Devendra Joshi to contest from Soorsagar constituency.
According to party leaders, Vyas wasn't renominated due to her age.
However, Gehlot claimed Vyas was denied a ticket because she praised his work and said the BJP should have shown some grace.
"She did not get a ticket because she praised me, my work... praising somebody's work is not bad. The BJP should have exhibited some grace," he said.
He said if development is taking place in Jodhpur, it will ultimately benefit the state. If somebody appreciates this, there should not be any prejudice against that person, he said.
Earlier, Gehlot rejected that Vyas was denied a ticket due to her age, claiming there were others of her age in the BJP who had got tickets.
Is it wrong for an MLA from an opposition party to give a positive opinion on a chief minister if his government is doing good work? Gehlot said. So why punish those who have good and amicable relations with me, he added.
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Voter list row: Election officer says Sanjay Singh's allegations 'incorrect, baseless'
New Delhi, Jan 4: The district election officer of New Delhi on Saturday rejected as "baseless" AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh's allegations related to the deletion of voter names in the assembly constituency from where party convener and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will contest upcoming polls.
The allegations of Singh that the district election officer (DEO), New Delhi, did not provide details of applicants seeking vote deletion and that the officer was "deliberately" deleting names of voters were "factually incorrect and baseless", the DEO said in a post on X.
The district magistrate of New Delhi doubles as the DEO during elections.
Singh on Friday met the New Delhi DE0 seeking names of those who filed applications for deletion of names of voters in the constituency.
The AAP has accused the BJP of filing applications in bulk for the deletion of names of voters who support the Kejriwal-led party across Delhi.
The officer asserted that the process of deleting any name from the electoral roll is carried out after a thorough verification strictly in accordance with the Election Commission's guidelines and a mere submission of a list for deletion does not start the process.
"As per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the summary of Form 7, which includes the names of both the objectors and objectees, is shared with all recognised political parties including AAP on a weekly basis through Form 10," the New Delhi DEO said in a post on X.
This information is also uploaded on the official website of CEO Delhi for public access and transparency. Hence, the statement that objectors' names are not being shared is factually not correct, he said.
The officer said the process of deleting any name from the electoral roll is carried out strictly in accordance with the guidelines issued by the ECI. The process starts with the filing of form 7 and involves a thorough field verification by the Booth Level Officers (BLOs), BLO supervisors, and other officers as per prescribed norms.
"Mere submitting a list for deletion doesn't start the deletion process," he said.
The officer cited two applications filed for deletion of the name of Singh's wife Anita Singh from New Delhi's voter list, saying upon field verification, the BLO found her residing at the given address and both Form 7 applications were rejected.
An FIR was also lodged against the applicants for wrongful filing of Form 7, he added.
"The allegation that the DEO, New Delhi, is deliberately deleting the names of genuine electors is entirely baseless and unsubstantiated. All deletions are carried out in strict compliance with ECI norms to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the electoral roll," he said.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva charged that the AAP leaders including Singh were threatening election officers to ensure fake votes are not deleted from the New Delhi constituency.
"Kejriwal is losing from the New Delhi Assembly constituency, and this fear of defeat has left the Aam Aadmi Party in a state of panic," he alleged.
The AAP in a statement alleged that the BJP has been caught "red-handed" while attempting to manipulate the voters list.
The two individuals who had submitted applications to delete the vote of Sanjay Singh's wife were backed by BJP leaders, the party alleged.
After the summary revision process closed last month, the BJP filed applications to delete 5,000 names and add 7,500 names in the New Delhi Assembly constituency, claimed Aam Aadmi Party.
"Bharatiya Janata Party is conducting a targeted operation to delete names of AAP voters in New Delhi. Names of citizens living here for 40 to 50 years are being deleted, tomorrow BJP might even get their homes bulldozed and claim that they never lived here," Singh alleged on Friday.
