3 out of 10 deleted voters are Purvanchalis in East Delhi constituency, claims AAP

NEW DELHI: Nearly 3 out of 10 deleted voters of East Delhi Constituency are Purvanchalis followed by 2 banyas and 2 Muslims, a data analysis by AAP reveals. Nearly 3,75,622 voters' name was deleted from the constituency. Reiterating its allegation of mass deletion of names of voters in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party said on Monday it will soon start a "door-to-door" programme to urge people to ensure that their names, if deleted, are added to the voters' list.

AAP leader Atishi claimed the names of nearly 30 lakh voters were deleted and a majority of them belonged to traders, minorities and Purvanchali communities settled in the city. "AAP workers will contact people door to door to get their names added in the voters' list," she said.

The Election Commission had conducted an inquiry into the allegation and previously dismissed the AAP allegation as "baseless".

Atishi, who is AAP's in-charge of East Delhi Lok Sabha seat, also claimed that names of over four lakh voters were deleted in the constituency.

The AAP leader alleged that the BJP was getting the names deleted "fearing a backlash against its rule at the Centre". The issue of deletion of names of voters was raised first by AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had met then chief election commissioner O P Rawat last month. Kejriwal had claimed over 10 lakh voters were removed from electoral rolls since assembly elections in Delhi in 2015.

AAP national spokesperson Raghav Chadha earlier said, ""The whole exercise of checking whether the deleted voters' names was factually correct or not was turned into a complete joke by the Election Commission officers." The Delhi Assembly also passed a resolution on Tuesday asking the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Delhi to conduct a door-to-door survey to verify names of lakhs of voters, which as per the resolution, were deleted from electoral rolls of the national Capital since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power in February 2015.

The resolution also asked the Delhi government to initiate a probe into the names of genuine voters that were allegedly struck off from the electoral rolls, fix the responsibility of the errant officials and submit a report before the House within three months.

It alleged that the names of the voters are being deleted deliberately to favour the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP, however, rejected the allegations and accused the AAP of misleading the Assembly.