AAP claims polling agent ‘Held Captive’—What if they need a Toilet break?

Amid voting for the Delhi assembly election, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) raised concerns about irregularities in the New Delhi constituency. AAP leader and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is contesting against BJP’s Parvesh Verma.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha accused polling agents, called relievers, of being denied entry at several booths. Chadha emphasized that the relievers and polling agents hold equal status. He stated that in nearly half of the booths, relievers were blocked from entering, preventing them from overseeing the polling process.

Chadha highlighted the importance of relievers being allowed in. Without them, polling agents could not take breaks or confirm the fairness of the vote, such as ensuring there was no fake voting or malfunctioning EVMs. He appealed to the District Election Officer and urged them to ensure a fair process. Chadha further expressed concern about interference and the potential for hooliganism on election day.

Arvind Kejriwal, responding to the allegations, called the situation a “human rights violation.” In a post on X, he questioned how relievers could be kept out of booths, especially if a polling agent needed a break. He criticized the restriction, saying it violated basic human rights.

Voting for Delhi’s assembly election began at 7 am and was scheduled to conclude at 6:30 pm. All 70 seats in the Delhi assembly were up for grabs in a single-phase vote.