Fake AAP Candidate List for Delhi Polls Shared With Communal Angle

According to the message, AAP has decided to field 21 Muslims out of 27 candidates in its first list.

With Delhi all set to go to polls on 8 February to elect 70 members of the Legislative Assembly, the fake news factory has already started working overtime to spread misinformation.

CLAIM

A message doing rounds on various social media platforms is being shared with a claim that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has released its first of candidates for the upcoming elections, and that 21 of the 27 names in the aforementioned list are of Muslims.

The claim shared with the message reads, “शेयर करे और देखे केजरीवाल उर्फ केजरुद्दीन जो दिल्ली को किस तरह स्व पाकिस्तान बनाना चाह रहे है सब आपके सामने है उनके विधायको की पहली लिस्ट जागो हिन्दू जागो (Translation: Share and see how Kejriwal aka Kejruddin is trying to convert Delhi into Pakistan. This is the his first list of candidates. This is a wake up call for all Hindus).”

The message is being massively circulated on Twitter and Facebook.

TRUE OR FALSE?

The Quint could verify that the message in circulation is fake as no such list has been released by the Aam Aadmi Party.

Further, AAP released its list of candidates on 14 January and most of the names in the actual list don’t match with the list which is going viral.

For instance: AAP has fielded Rajendra Pal Gautam from Seemapuri but the viral list claimed that the candidate is Badruddin Khan. Similarly, the party has fielded Virender Singh Kadian from Delhi Cantonment but the list named Nushrat Khan.

You can see the complete (verified) list of candidates here.

WHAT WE FOUND

The Quint got in touch with Jasmine Shah, vice-chairperson of Dialogue & Development Commission (DDC), which is a think tank and top advisory body for Delhi government.

He told us that the party has not released any list yet. “We will release a list whenever its ready. This is a nasty joke and we all know who plays such jokes,” Shah said.

A keywords search using ‘AAP’s first list of candidates’ also directed us to several media reports which claimed that the party is likely to release its first list on 14 January. Clearly, a fake list with a communal spin is being circulated on social media to malign the party’s campaign.

(Editor’s Note: The story has been updated with the original list released by the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Delhi elections)

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