EC must intervene to stop attacks on AAP candidates : AAM AADMI PARTY #AAMAADMIPARTY #LOKSABHAELECTION2014

The Aam Aadmi Party demands the immediate intervention of the Election Commission of India to ensure free and fair elections, following two separate cases of physical assault and intimidation of its Lok Sabha candidates in Bihar and Jharkhand.

In the first case, the AAP candidate from Nalanda parliamentary constituency in Bihar, Pranav Prakash was attacked and brutally beaten up with an intention to murder him on Sunday night.

 He was in Udarfu village under Bind police station, (Asthava vidhan sabha) of Nalanda district.

A group of 20-30 goons, armed with rods, pistols and other weapons, attacked the car in which he was travelling, broke the windows of his car, dragged him into a ditch and brutally beat him, till he fell unconscious.

It is shocking and highly regrettable that when the Election Commission officials/observers in Nalanda district were contacted, they refused to come and informed the AAP volunteers that they would meet them in the morning.

Such a shocking behavior shows gross negligence, apathy and favouritism towards the ruling party in Bihar on the part of these officials.

In the second incident, the AAP candidate from Khunti parliamentary constituency of Jharkhand and well-known adivasi activist Dayamani Barla and her campaign team are being regularly threatened.

Her campaign team and supporters have been threatened and harmed twice by armed militants till now, which is very worrying. On April 7, the vehicle carrying the AAP supporters towards Arki block was stopped at Birbanki by some armed militants at 3:00 PM. They took away the car keys and mobile phones of all members, who however, managed to escape on foot at 7 PM and walked through the jungle all night to reach Khunti back only the next morning.  

The next incident took place on April 9, when some AAP supporters, including two women, were stopped at Bikwadag in Karra block by six armed men.  One of them said that he was the zonal commander of extremist outfit People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), which will not allow any campaigning for the AAP, and anybody doing so would be killed.  The PLFI has made it clear that it will only the campaign of Jharkhand Party’s candidate Anosh Ekka .

These incidents show that vested interests are trying to discourage the presence of the AAP in the electoral arena and it is for the EC to ensure that candidates are allowed to campaign without any fear and people are allowed to participate in the democratic process without any undue influence.