"Bharti finding it difficult to digest defeat," says Bansuri Swaraj after Somnath Bharti challenges her LS poll win in HC

Swaraj said, "Bharti is finding it difficult to digest his defeat."

"Somnath Bharti has lost the Lok Sabha elections and not just the Lok Sabha but also in the Malviya Nagar assembly constituency from where he has been MLA for so long. So he is finding it difficult to digest his defeat. A question is also getting raised over his political survival. So to justify his defeat he has filed this petition against me.

"I will stand firm against the lies of MLA Somnath Bharti and the lies of AAP," said Swaraj while talking to ANI on Sunday.

Somnath Bharti sought direction from the court to the concerned Returning Officer, calling for records pertaining to the elections held in the 04-New Delhi parliamentary constituency elections held on May 25, 2024. The bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Arora is scheduled to hear the matter on July 22, 2024.

Plea stated that the petitioner (Somnath Bharti) contested the election to the House of the People from the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency in the election held on May 25, 2024, by the Election Commission of India and was declared lost by the returning officer, while Bansuri Swaraj was declared the winner on June 4, 2024.

It further stated that the petitioner secured 3,74,815 votes and the Bansuri Swaraj secured 4,53,185 votes, as per the returning officer. Raaj Kumar Anand, though a candidate set up by the Bahujan Samaj Party, was in reality set up by Bansuri Swaraj's party to help her against the petitioner because Raaj Kumar Anand was a minister in the Aam Aadmi Party's government in Delhi and was active in campaigning for the petitioner till April 9, 2024, and suddenly on April 10, 2024, he resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party.

He resigned from his ministry because of the misuse of agencies like ED, CBI, and IT against him, the petition claimed. The petition further claimed that on inquiry, Raaj Kumar Anand revealed that he was under tremendous pressure from the investigating agencies and hence had no option but to resign or else he would be arrested.

On May 6, 2024, Raaj Kumar Anand filed his nomination as an MP candidate from the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency on the ticket of the Bahujan Samaj Party, the plea added. In line with the practice adopted by the Bahujan Samaj Party across India, Raaj Kumar Anand was set up by the party of Bansuri Swaraj to help her win by cutting into the votes of the candidate of INDIA Alliance. He secured 5629 votes, as per the Returning Officer.

On July 10, 2024, Raaj Kumar Anand formally joined the BJP, i.e., the party of Bansuri Swaraj, confirming the real intent of Raaj Kumar Anand's leaving AAP, i.e., the party of the petitioner. (ANI)