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Somnath Bharti also sought Bansuri Swaraj's disqualification from contesting any elections, either to state assemblies or Parliament, for a period of six years, as per the law. He contended that Swaraj's campaign was religious in nature, seeking votes on prohibited religious grounds.
The Delhi High Court, on Wednesday, issued notice to BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj in a petition filed by AAP leader Somnath Bharti challenging her election from the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on grounds of alleged corrupt practices. The bench of Justice Pritam Singh Arora directed Bansuri Swaraj to submit her response within 30 days while removing Raaj Kumar Anand, a candidate from the Bahujan Samaj Party, from the list of respondents.
Somnath Bharti, represented by Senior Advocate KC Mittal, alleged that Raaj Kumar Anand was strategically placed by the BJP to split votes that would have otherwise supported him. Somnath Bharti claimed that Anand, who was a minister in the AAP Government until April 09, suddenly resigned from the party on April 10 and contested the election to aid Swaraj’s victory.
The court found Somnath Bharti’s allegations unconvincing, noting that Anand received only 5269 votes. The court stated that even if these votes were added to Somnath Bharti’s total, he would still have lost to Swaraj. Consequently, the court determined that there was no cause of action against Anand and removed him as a respondent.
Senior Advocate KC Mittal further alleged that on the election day, Bharti observed booth agents of Swaraj distributing pamphlets featuring her ballot number, photo, election symbol, and a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging voters to support her. Senior Advocate KC Mittal argued that such actions constituted corrupt practices.
Senior Advocate KC Mittal also claimed that BJP workers were seen distributing money and materials, such as saris and suits, to residents, and were marking names on electoral rolls after verifying voters’ identities.
This was the second petition filed by Somnath Bharti against Swaraj’s win in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The first petition was dismissed by the court with directions to file a corrected version of his petition, citing 'numerous typographical errors'.
Case Title: Somnath Bharti v Bansuri Swaraj and Others
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