New Delhi: A team of Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials arrived at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on Friday after lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena ordered a probe into the ex-CM’s poaching charges against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A day after most exit polls projected a clean sweep for the BJP in the Delhi Assembly elections, Aam Admi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of trying to poach 16 party candidates. Kejriwal alleged that the AAP candidates received offers from the BJP, which allegedly promised ministerial positions and ₹15 crore each if they jumped the ship to join the saffron party.
#WATCH | A team of Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrives at the residence of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal after Delhi LG’s principal secretary writes to the chief secretary to conduct an ACB Inquiry on allegations of bribes offered to MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party pic.twitter.com/yt2ZMW5ZH3
— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2025
Kejriwal’s accusations come ahead of the February 8 poll results.
“Some agencies are showing that the abusive party (BJP) is getting more than 55 seats. In the last two hours, 16 of our candidates have received calls that if they leave the AAP and join their party, they will be made ministers and given ₹15 crore each,” Kejriwal posted in Hindi on X.
कुछ एजेंसीज दिखा रही हैं कि गाली गलौज पार्टी की 55 से ज़्यादा सीट आ रही हैं।
पिछले दो घंटे में हमारे 16 उम्मीदवारों के पास फ़ोन आ गए हैं कि “आप” छोड़ के उनकी पार्टी में आ जाओ, मंत्री बना देंगे और हरेक को 15-15 करोड़ देंगे।
अगर इनकी पार्टी की 55 से ज़्यादा सीटें आ रहीं हैं तो…
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 6, 2025
Chief minister Atishi, who contested from Kalkaji, also questioned the BJP’s actions. “If the abusive party (BJP) is getting more than 50 seats, then why are they trying to break our candidates by contacting them?” she asked on X.
अगर गाली गलौज पार्टी की 50 से ज़्यादा सीटें आ रही हैं, तो यह हमारे प्रत्याशियों को संपर्क कर के तोड़ने की कोशिश क्यों कर रहे हैं?
यह दिखा रहा है कि एक्ज़िट पोल एक साज़िश हैं आम आदमी पार्टी के विधायक तोड़ने की! https://t.co/3kKjiC4EQ4
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) February 6, 2025
Atishi further alleged that the exit polls predicting a BJP victory in Delhi were part of a “conspiracy” hatched to demoralise AAP candidates.
On Wednesday, voting was conducted peacefully across 13,766 polling stations in all 70 Assembly constituencies of Delhi.