Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Hindu
The Hindu
National
Vikas Vasudeva

Punjab Assembly elections | AAP ‘faked’ phone-in poll for CM nominee: Sidhu

Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu said the AAP is in a race to win the Assembly elections by deceit, and has created an illusion and fake perception of their party and leaders and misled the public. (Source: PTI)

Days after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced Bhagwant Mann as its chief ministerial candidate based on ‘public opinion’ through a phone-in poll, the Congress on Monday termed the campaign a ‘fake’.

Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu said the AAP is in a race to win the elections by deceit, and has created an illusion and fake perception of their party and leaders and misled the public.

“AAP launched a private number to host the fake contest to elect their CM candidate by popular vote. A private line was launched to receive and record responses. AAP announced the CM candidate by popular vote of 21,59,475 responses received within a span of 4 days whereas the population of state of Punjab is over 2 crore. That does not even make their candidate a viable option, “ Mr. Sidhu said.

“Even if one were to believe that they received such responses, the math doesn’t add up. In normal circumstances, a toll-free number can still hold some load. However, there is no way a private number can hold so many responses,” he claimed.

Mr. Sidhu alleged that AAP’s meaans were to deceive the people and create an illusion and propaganda through fake news. The Congress leader added that it was a complete violation of the model of code of conduct and the Election Commission should take strict notice of it.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.