Kejriwal appeals to voters to exercise franchise to end "dictatorship"

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the voters to exercise their franchise in large numbers “to protect democracy and the Constitution.”

As the voting in the seventh and final phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha election began on June 1, Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the voters to exercise their franchise in large numbers “to protect democracy and the Constitution.”

“In this great festival of democracy, the country will vote in the last phase today. All of you are requested to exercise your right to vote in large numbers to protect democracy and the Constitution,” Mr. Kejriwal posted on X.

“Go to vote yourself and take your neighbours along with you. Dictatorship will lose, and democracy will win,” he added.

The AAP chief has been on bail in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy. The Supreme Court had on May 10 granted 21-day interim bail to the Chief Minister to enable him to campaign during the Lok Sabha polls. The court had directed him to surrender on June 2, a day after the last phase of the Lok Sabha election.

After getting the bail, Mr. Kejriwal campaigned across the country extensively, attacking the BJP-led Union government and accusing it of being dictatorial and wanting to crush Opposition misusing central investigative agencies.

In the last phase of the election, voting is being held in 57 parliamentary constituencies across eight States and the Union Territories including Bihar, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

The 57 Lok Sabha seats include 41 general category seats, three reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and 13 for Scheduled Castes.