Battle for Democracy: Kejriwal Stands with Mamata in Bengal Election Row

Arvind Kejriwal supports Mamata Banerjee in her fight to preserve democracy against BJP's alleged misuse of the Election Commission in West Bengal polls, drawing parallels to AAP's past defeat in Delhi. Banerjee criticizes the EC's politicized actions in reshuffling senior officials as an assault on constitutional integrity.

Arvind Kejriwal, the convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), expressed solidarity with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asserting that she is fighting to protect democracy. Kejriwal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of manipulating the Election Commission (EC) to secure victory in the state's upcoming Assembly elections.

The former Delhi Chief Minister likened the current scenario in West Bengal to the situation faced by AAP before it lost the Delhi Assembly elections to the BJP in February 2022. Several high-profile AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain, were defeated, with Kejriwal attributing the loss to alleged voter list tampering and administrative bias in favor of the BJP.

Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, has criticized the EC for what she describes as politically motivated reshuffling of senior officials, which she believes undermines the constitution. She calls it a direct assault on democracy, as West Bengal heads towards a two-phase polling on April 23 and April 29, with counting on May 4.

(With inputs from agencies.)