Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Atishi Marlena, who is contesting against BJP's Gautam Gambhir from East Delhi constituency, said that people do not want to vote for a celebrity as he will not be available for the people when they need him.

“People do not want to vote for a celebrity in elections. What is it that people need a member of parliament (MP) for? When you want to get admission hospital, you need someone to sign the forms; when you want admission into a school, you want an MP to sign your form. Gautam Gambhir is an international level celebrity, he is going to be in Mumbai, he is going to be in London, and that is not what people want,” she said.

The AAP leader has filed three complaints against the cricketer turned politician. Last week Atishi alleged that Gambhir was enrolled as a voter from two Delhi assembly segments. On Sunday, she wrote to the Election Commission, seeking a 72-hour campaign ban on Gambhir for holding a rally without permission. On Monday, the AAP leader again wrote to the EC, alleging poll code violation by Gambhir over pamphlet distribution.

Gambhir, however, has denied all the allegations levelled against him. “I have only one voter ID which is from Rajinder Nagar which is where I stay and I have only voted from here," he said.

Voters across Delhi’s seven constituencies will cast their votes in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 12.

First Published:Apr 30, 2019 7:39 PM IST