Kiran Bedi Missing From Posters as BJP's Big Guns Campaign for Delhi Polls

The BJP's chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi is missing from posters and some election speeches as the party changes the pitch of its campaign in Delhi dramatically. With seven days to go for polling, party president and chief strategist Amit Shah has deployed the BJP's biggest guns to take on Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Many BJP posters in Delhi constituencies now feature only Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Shah and the local party candidate.

While Ms Bedi - who joined the party just days ago and was immediately announced presumptive CM - continued to criss-cross Delhi with her roadshows, the party's focused attack on her main rival Arvind Kejriwal is being fronted by senior party leaders.

Two central ministers posed a second installment of five questions to Mr Kejriwal.

Tomorrow, PM Modi will address a rally at CBD Ground in East Delhi. Today, Mr Shah spoke at a rally in Janakpuri and made not a mention of Kiran Bedi. Union minister Smriti Irani addressed another rally and she too did not mention Ms Bedi.

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Kiran Bedi proposes engagement of youth for development

Bedi on Thursday tweeted an elaborate 25 point programme for women security including preventive measures, corrective actions and regular reviews, today tweeted a 15 point program for engagement with youth and their development.
  
Terming the youth of Delhi as an integral part of her agenda, Bedi sought to increase the involvement of youth in governance through education, training and leadership programmes.
  
In her 15 point program, Bedi tweeted about optimum utilisation of sports stadiums and facilities and has even promised a singular channel for all regulatory permissions for cultural and sports events.
  
“Enable access for youth orgs to sports & other govt facilities: optimum utilization of stadiums & sports facilities.”
  
"A simplified single window clearance 4all regulatory permissions 2promote increase in cultural &sports events for youth," she tweeted.
  
Bedi who has been promising to bring back civil defence volunteers in her electioneering campaign, reached out to the younger crowd by hoping to pull them in community service programs.

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Delhi Assembly polls: Arvind Kejriwal slams BJP advertisement

In a series of tweets today, AAP chief Kejriwal said, “Nathuram Godse killed Gandhiji on this day in 1948. BJP has killed Anna in its ad today. Shudn't BJP apologise?”

In the advertisement, BJP has also shown Kejriwal’s cartoon in which he is promising not to take support from congress, but he has been shown to have done "marriage" with congress.

In another tweet, Kejriwal asked his supporters to be vigilant, saying 'To all AAP volunteers n supporters. Evil forces will try to divert ur (your) attention. But pl (please) stay focused on positive agenda for Delhi."

"AAP is forming govt in Delhi. Get ready to serve Delhi and to make it safe for women", Kejriwal said in another tweet. Again he tweeted, "I will always pray for well being and good health of Annaji".

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Delhi polls: Kejriwal alleges conspiracy to defame candidates, to move Election Commission

Terming it as a "desperate attempt" by the opposition, the AAP chief claimed that such attempts were made in the past as well.

"Last yr, farzi (fake) stings were shown against 6 of our candidates a few days before elections to defame us (sic)," Kejriwal said in a series of tweets.

He expressed apprehension that "similar conspiracies" are being planned to malign the party before the upcoming elections.  

"A senior leader, famous 4 planting stories, has hatched conspiracy against some AAP candidates n they will plant farzi stories in media (sic)," he said.

Kejriwal also said the party was lodging a complaint with the Election Commission over the issue. "But Delhiites won't believe it. They know this is last desperate attempt of our opponents who r losing badly...We are making a complaint to EC also," he tweeted.

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Photo voter slips to be issued soon for Delhi Assembly polls

"The process of distributing the photo slips would ensure verification of the genuine voters. These photo slips will be distributed by booth level officers (BLOs) five six days before the polls.''
  
"The BLO's will individually visit all the households in their areas and hand over the photo voters' slips to the electors," said a senior official from Delhi's Chief Electoral Office.
  
Also, in case of voters forgetting their Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC), they may produce the said slip to establish their identity at polling stations, he added.
  
One poll officer will be stationed outside each booth on the polling day with copies of photo slips to enable voters to collect the same on the spot before casting their ballot.
  
Electors whose photograph in the EPIC does not match will have to produce alternative photo IDs like passport, driving licence, service identity cards for Central/state/public sector employees, Pan card, Aadhaar card, etc.

To check bogus voting and ensure that only genuine voters get to exercise their franchise on polling day, the Election Commission had decided in 2013 polls to distribute voters' slips to the electors.

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Delhi polls: Bedi sends legal notice to Kejriwal for using her photograph in AAP posters

"Yes, she has sent a notice to Kejriwal. He has been asked to ensure that the posters are removed," BJP's media convener Praveen Shankar Kapoor said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has recently put up posters on numerous auto-rickshaws plying in the national capital, asking the people of Delhi to choose between Kejriwal and Bedi for the post of chief minister.

In the posters, the picture of Kejriwal has the word "imandar" (honest) printed below it while that of Bedi has "avsarvadi" (opportunist). Earlier, fellow party leader Jagdish Mukhi, too, had sent a notice to Kejriwal for using his photograph in similar posters, before the BJP declared Bedi as their chief ministerial candidate.

The AAP pitted Kejriwal against Mukhi, even though the BJP had said that they would contest the Delhi election under Prime Minister Narendra Modi without naming a CM candidate the BJP, however, later named Bedi for the post after she joined the party earlier this month.

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Election Commission to ensure easy registration, correction of electoral rolls: HS Brahma

He said in the Commission's pursuit of "not just greater participation but complete participation," the poll body will strive to guarantee registration of all eligible persons and facilitate voting by all who are enrolled.

In a message ahead of the fifth Voters' Day on January 25, Brahma said the theme for this year is 'Easy Registration, Easy Correction.'

"I, on behalf of the Election Commission of India, urge every citizen of this country on this day to rise to this shared responsibility...(I) appeal everyone to make it a great success by becoming an integral part of the democratic electoral process," the CEC said.

He said through consistent efforts, EC has achieved an electoral roll of around 84 crore voters following the recently concluded Roll Revision. Addressing an event on January 20, Brahma had put the total number of voters at approximately 83 crore.

He also thanked people for coming out in great numbers and making the Lok Sabha Elections 2014 "the biggest ever participatory exercise in the world with more than 55 crore of you turning up at the polling station to exercise your valuable franchise."

He said the women deserve a special mention, with a record breaking participation of more than 26 crore in the LS polls.

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Kiran Bedi dodges Kejriwal's debate challenge, Maken ready

Throwing the challenge to Bedi, Kejriwal said such a debate will be a "good initiative" as people will know about plans and policies of the two main parties for the city which will help them in understanding various issues.

65-year-old Bedi, who had joined BJP last week and was named its chief ministerial nominee last night, said she "accepted" the challenge but will only debate with him on the floor of Delhi Assembly and not during the campaign.

"I accept the challenge. I will do it in the Assembly and before that I am focusing on delivery rather than on debates because that's what he's been doing. He's only been debating. What I am doing is delivery of goals, services, programmes," said Bedi.

When told that Congress' Maken has also welcomed the move, Bedi, who will contest from BJP's traditional stronghold of Krishna Nagar in East Delhi, retorted, "While they are into drama, I am focused on work. These two have been indulging in drama. They have been doing it together also. I am focusing on work at this point."

Earlier, Kejriwal, who had worked with Bedi as part of Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal movement before they parted ways, said both the leaders can debate on "concrete issues" for 1-2 hours.

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