Delhi Elections 2025 Live Updates: 'Free power, water schemes to cover tenants too if AAP returns to power,' announces Kejriwal

Pressure is mounting on BJP leadership to take action against party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla for using a “caste slur”during a TV debate.

A day after party MP Manoj Tiwari issued a statement and sought action against Poonawala, NDA partner JD(U) on Thursday also asked BJP to act against Poonawalla for his comments targeting an AAP functionary which, the regional party said, has caused deep displeasure among people from Poorvanchal.

JD(U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, in a statement, said, “Poonawalla has made a mistake. His comments have caused deep displeasure among people from Poorvanchal. JD(U) seeks action from the BJP leadership against Poonawalla for his comments.”

In a heated discussion during a news channel debate on Wednesday, Poonawalla had played on AAP MLA Rituraj Jha’s surname to make a jibe at him, a remark slammed as abusive by Delhi’s ruling party. His swipe had come after Jha played with the BJP spokesperson’s surname to take a dig at him.

The BJP functionary has insisted that he never abused anyone and accused AAP of “spreading lies” and character assassination.

The Congress on Thursday accused AAP of remembering “Muslim brothers” when Delhi Assembly elections come around.

Reacting to AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s statement about the attack on Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan, Congress MP from Saharanpur Imran Masood said that it was surprising Kejriwal, who did not express concern for Muslims in Delhi in the past 10 years, has now expressed concern about Muslims in Mumbai. “His concern was not about Saif Ali Khan, or Salman Khan, or Baba Siddiqui, but it was his concern for the votes of the Muslims in Delhi,” he said.

“After the communal violence in Jahangirpuri and east Del hi, you (Kejriwal) neither visited the affected areas nor spoke in favour of the victimised communities. As the then CM, why did you stay silent? What steps have you taken since then?” he asked.

The MP questioned former deputy CM Manish Sisodia for his silence on the Bilkis Bano case. “The case shocked the country. But Sisodia refused to condemn the incident or comment on it,” he said. During the protest at Shaheen Bagh against CAA and NRC, “Kejriwal’s statement regarding ‘vacating’ the area raised serious questions,” Masood asked. He questioned AAP about the Nizamuddin Markaz case. “During Covid, the way a community was blamed for the incident increased communal tension.” AAP has not reacted to Masood’s statement.

Warning against political campaigns that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create “synthetic” images, videos and audio, potentially influencing voter opinion and trust, the Election Commission on Thursday directed the political parties to prominently label such content as ‘AI generated’ or ‘synthetic’ while sharing it on social media, “in the interest of transparency and accountablity”.

EC in an advisory sent to all recognised national and state parties said there was need for prominent and easily discernible labelling of AI-ge nerated or synthetic content meant for political campaigning with the notation ‘AI-generated’, ‘digitally enhanced’ or ‘synthetic content’, to keep the voter informed. It added that campaign advertisements and promotional content disseminated online should include disclaimers wherever synthetic content is utilised.

While referring to its guidelines dated May 6, 2024, on the ethical use of social media platforms in 2024 Lok Sabha election, EC on Thursday said they had sought to curb the possibility of parties and their representatives disturbing the level playing field during elections by using ‘deep fakes’ and AI-generated distorted content to spread fake information, misinformation or disinformation.

With the election affidavits laying bare the financial status of the candidates, a war of words broke out on Thursday, with BJP questioning the rise in AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s income and AAP sharply responding by citing the manifold increase in the earnings of his New Delhi constituency rival Parvesh Verma.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the former CM had declared Rs 44,90,040 as his income for 2020-21, which was almost 40 times his 2019-20 earnings of Rs 1,57,823. AAP retorted that Kejriwal was a former IRS officer and three-time CM, who yet remained “simple” and “committed” to public service and did not own a personal house in Delhi or even a car. The party claimed Kejriwal held Rs 50,000 in cash and barely had Rs 3 lakh in his bank account.

The party accused the BJP of “hypocrisy”, pointing out that Verma's total wealth of Rs 89 crore was around 27 times Kejriwal’s. “He owns luxury cars. His family's assets are worth over Rs 100 crore. His asset value increased 2,600% in five years,” AAP alleged in a statement, which also demanded that BJP should reveal the sources behind this “massive surge” in Verma’s wealth.

A Delhi court, while denying bail to AAP’s Uttam Nagar MLA Naresh Balyan in a case of organised crime, has stated that there was sufficient material before it to indicate his connection with such a crime syndicate and that he was engaged in continuing the unlawful activity as its member.

"...At this stage, there is also sufficient material to indicate a nexus of the applicant with the ‘organised crime syndicate’,” special judge Kaveri Baweja said in the Jan 15 order, and also remarked about his being “engaged in ‘continuing unlawful activity’ as a member of or on behalf of such a syndicate.”
Although the court prono unced the order on Wednesday, its copy was available on Thursday.

Advocates MS Khan and Rohit Kumar appeared for the MLA. The counsel told the court that the allegations aga inst Balyan rested on past FIRs registered against other people. They said that Delhi Police misconstrued the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOC Act), which mandated the existence of a “con tinuing unlawful activity” to invoke applicability.

Ahead of the Delhi assembly polls, police have registered 215 cases of alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) from January 7 to January 15 in the national capital, an official said on Wednesday. To maintain law and order, preventive actions have led to the arrest of 8,477 individuals under various provisions, including the Excise Act, an official statement said.

The police have heightened vigilance at interstate border checkpoints and intensified crackdowns on illegal activities, including the smuggling of arms, liquor and drugs from January 7 to 15, the statement added.

During this period, Delhi Police recorded 215 cases of alleged MCC violations and confiscated 139 illegal firearms and 101 cartridges.

Additionally, they seized 23,489 litres of liquor and 59.98 kilograms of drugs, with a total value of more than Rs 13 crore. The police also seized more than 1,200 banned injections.

The law enforcement agencies seized Rs 1.46 crore in cash and 37.39 kilograms of silver, the statement said.

Polling for all 70 assembly seats in Delhi will be held on February 5 and the votes counted on February 8.

Ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has launched innovative initiatives in Karol Bagh and Rohini Zones to encourage voter participation. Both zones have announced special discounts for voters, aiming to motivate people to exercise their democratic rights.

In the Karol Bagh Zone, over 500 guest houses, 30 restaurants and 32 sweet shops have introduced a "democracy discount", offering 15 per cent to 20 per cent discounts to those who cast their votes.

The initiative, undertaken in coordination with the Public Health Department of Karol Bagh Zone, requires voters to show proof of voting by displaying the indelible ink mark on their index finger.

Karol Bagh Zone Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Kumar Mishra emphasized the importance of this initiative.

"Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. With the 'democracy discount', we hope to inspire more people to take part in the electoral process and make their voices heard. Every vote counts and this initiative is our way of thanking voters for their commitment," he said.

Arvind Kejriwal built schools, hospitals and provided free electricity in return for the historic mandate given to the AAP by the people of Delhi, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said as he campaigned for the party on Thursday. The Punjab chief minister held two roadshows in Delhi for AAP candidates in Ghonda and Gandhi Nagar constituencies, assailing both the BJP and Congress.

"The Congress will maintain its record of zero seat this time also. It will not cause any damage to the AAP in Delhi," Mann said.

He also attacked the BJP accusing it of distributing money, shoes and gold chains to buy votes, and asserted the people of Delhi are not for sale.

Campaigning for AAP's Ghonda candidate Gaurav Sharma, Mann said it was the "duty" of the people to vote for his party for the development and welfare schemes former Delhi chief minister Kejriwal started in the city.

The northeast Delhi constituency is held by BJP's Ajay Mahawar in the outgoing Assembly. Mahawar has again been fielded by the BJP.

Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 5. Results will be declared on February 8.

The Delhi High Court has reserved its judgment on a petition seeking a special session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly to discuss reports from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

The petition, filed by Delhi Legislative Assembly Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta and six other BJP MLAs, aims to ensure government accountability and transparency.

The bench of Justice Sachin Datta reserved its judgment on the petition following an extensive hearing of the arguments.

Senior Advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, representing the Assembly Speaker, argued that the court should not issue directions to the Speaker, questioning whether it would serve any meaningful purpose given that only 20 days remained in the current Assembly's term, making it impractical to follow the procedures outlined under the Rules.

Nandrajog also responded to the BJP MLAs' plea, asserting that it was not a case of fundamental rights violation and that courts generally intervene only in exceptional circumstances when such violations occur.

On the last date of the hearing Delhi High Court criticised the Delhi Government for its delay in addressing the CAG reports, stating, "The way you have dragged your feet raises doubts about your bona fides."

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit, who is contesting the upcoming assembly polls from the New Delhi constituency, filed his nomination papers on Thursday. The Congress leader declared a net worth of Rs 11.12 core.

He has Rs 1.04 crore as movable assets, including Rs 5,000 in cash. His wife has movable assets of Rs 2.41 crore. He has liabilities of Rs 75.57 lakh.

Dikshit's total immovable assets are Rs 5.14 crore and that of his wife is Rs 2.53 crore. His income for the financial year 2023-24 was Rs 16.33 lakh, while his wife's income was Rs 7.34 lakh during the same period.

Dikshit, the son of former Delhi chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, is contesting the polls against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal and BJP's Parvesh Verma.

Voting for the 70-member Delhi Assembly is scheduled to be held on February 5 and the votes would be counted on February 8.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has allotted two seats to its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies, Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) and Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls on February 5.

While JD(U) will contest from the Burari seat, LJP will fight the poll from the Deoli assembly seat.

The BJP on Thursday released its fourth list of nine candidates for the polls, thus declaring 68 of the 70 names, leaving two seats for its allies.

While JD(U) has announced Shailendra Kumar as its candidate from Burari, the LJP (RV) is likely to field a candidate from Deoli.

Both the JD(U) and LJP (Ram Vilas), with a stronghold in Bihar that goes to polls this year, are key partners in the BJP-NDA.

The BJP also named nine more candidates for the elections to the 70-member assembly, fielding Shikha Rai and Anil Vashishth from Greater Kailash and Babarpur, respectively.