Arvind Kejriwal parades his elderly parents on wheelchairs to vote instead of using the Home Voting facility

As polls are taking place in Delhi for 70 Assembly seats, the Aam Aadmi Party national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also went to cast his vote along with his entire family including his aged, sick parents. Kejriwal shared a video on X in which he can be seen taking his aged parents sitting in wheelchairs, for voting at the Lady Irwin Senior Secondary School polling station. He was accompanied by his wife and son. In the tweet, Kejriwal urged people to cast their votes using his old-age parents as examples.

आज पूरे परिवार के साथ जाकर मतदान किया। हर दिल्लीवासी की तरक़्क़ी और हर ग़रीब परिवार के सम्मानजनक जीवन के लिए वोट दिया। आप भी अपने परिवार के साथ मतदान करें और दूसरों को भी प्रेरित करें। दिल्ली की तरक़्क़ी रुकनी नहीं चाहिए।

गुंडागर्दी हारेगी, दिल्ली जीतेगी। pic.twitter.com/6eSZnNTXBB

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 5, 2025

While his message of asking people to cast their vote seemed apt, using his aged, sick parents in what appeared as a last-minute attempt to garner voters’ sympathy, seemed like an election gimmick. It is incomprehensible as to why the former Delhi CM had to take his elderly parents out to vote in wheelchairs when there is a home-voting facility available for elderly people above 85 years of age and individuals with disabilities.

Through the home-voting facility, the Election Commission provides eligible voters an option to cast their votes from their homes, aiming to make the voting process more accessible for them. In this facility, EC teams visit the houses of the eligible voters, where the senior citizens and other eligible voters cast their votes. Former vice-president Hamid Ansari also used this facility to vote from his home.

Despite the availability of this provision, Kejriwal chose to bring his parents to the polling booth, instead of getting them to vote from the house. Arvind Kejriwal himself said last year that his father Gobind Ram Kejriwal was 85 years of age. Therefore, he is eligible for home voting. Moreover, Kejriwal had said that his mother Gita Devi’s health is poor, which potentially makes her eligible for the facility.

In the high-stakes environment of the Delhi elections, where the AAP is vying for a third consecutive term against formidable opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, it is evident that Kejriwal made a calculated move of parading his parents on wheelchairs to garner sympathy.

The service commenced on January 24 for the Delhi assembly elections and was available until Tuesday, February 4. The Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi on Saturday mentioned that 6,980 out of 7,553 eligible voters have cast their votes so far for the Delhi Assembly Elections under the home voting facility. Kejriwal could have easily opted for the home-voting facility for his aged parents.

Kejriwal used his parents during Swati Maliwal assault episode

Notably, this is not the first time that Kejriwal used his parents for sympathy. In May last year, when the Delhi Police wanted to interrogate Kejriwal’s parents in the Swati Maliwal assault case, Kejriwal cried foul accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of targeting his parents. The interrogation was in connection with AAP MLA Swati Maliwal’s statement alleging that Kejriwal and his entire family were at the house and having breakfast when she was beaten by Kejriwal’s personal secretary Bibhav Kumar at the CM’s residence.

“This is my appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pradhanmantri ji, you have made several attempts to pull me down. You arrested me; harassed me in Tihar in several ways. But I did not give in. Today, you crossed all limits as you targeted my parents. My mother is very ill. She came home from the hospital on the day you arrested me, March 21. My father is 85 years old. He is short of hearing. Do you think they have done something wrong? Why will the cops interrogate them,” Kejriwal said.