Names of AAP voters being deleted from electoral roll, claims Kejriwal

New Delhi: In a dramatic press conference held on Friday, Arvind Kejriwal, National Convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), revealed what he described as a “massive vote deletion scam” orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. Kejriwal accused the BJP of targeting AAP supporters by unlawfully attempting to delete their names from the voter rolls, particularly in the Shahdara constituency.

Kejriwal cited documents showing that BJP had submitted applications to delete 11,018 votes in Shahdara, claiming that a significant portion of these voters were either deceased or had shifted addresses. However, after conducting an investigation into 500 randomly selected voters, Kejriwal asserted that

75 per cent of these voters were alive and still residing at the same addresses listed on the voter rolls.

“We found that 372 out of 500 voters were still residing at their registered addresses, contrary to BJP’s claim that they had shifted or passed away,” Kejriwal said, highlighting the fraudulent nature of the BJP’s applications. “This means that over 75 per cent of the 11,000 voters BJP wants to delete are legitimate voters.”

Further criticising the BJP’s actions, Kejriwal pointed out that the timing of these deletions, following the Election Commission’s Summary Revision process between August and October, raised serious questions. “If the Election Commission has already completed its verification, why are these votes being deleted now?” he asked, suggesting that the BJP’s actions were an attempt to manipulate the electoral process.

The AAP leader also expressed his concerns about the Election Commission’s role in this matter, alleging that the commission was processing the BJP’s applications without transparency. “The Election Commission is supposed to upload all vote deletion applications on its website, but as of yesterday, only 487 applications were visible for Shahdara, despite BJP submitting 11,000,” he said. “This secrecy raises serious questions about the integrity of the election process.”

Kejriwal also drew attention to the potential impact of these deletions on the election outcome in Shahdara, where AAP had won in 2020 by a margin of just over 5,200 votes. “BJP is trying to delete 11,000 votes in a constituency where AAP won by a margin of just 5,200,” he pointed out, suggesting

that the BJP’s actions were designed to reverse the outcome of the election.

Kejriwal demanded that the Election Commission immediately halt all vote deletions in Delhi, stating, “No votes should be deleted after October 18 until the elections are over. We demand an immediate stop to vote deletions in Delhi.”

AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Raghav Chadha, and Jitender Singh ‘Shunty’ also joined Kejriwal in condemning the BJP’s actions. Sisodia likened BJP’s behavior to pre-independence tactics, asserting, “By secretly getting votes deleted, they are betraying the souls of the martyrs who fought for the right to vote.”

Raghav Chadha emphasised the magnitude of the BJP’s efforts, noting that the party was trying to delete votes at a rate 2–4 times the winning margin of AAP in several constituencies. “This is a systematic effort to manipulate the elections,” Chadha said.

Jitender Singh ‘Shunty’ highlighted the violation of fundamental rights, pointing out that many migrant workers, whose names were on the list, were being denied the right to vote. “This is not just about deleting votes but about

violating fundamental rights,” he said.

Kejriwal concluded his remarks by warning the BJP and election officials of legal consequences. “The BJP official who submitted these requests will face legal action. This is a violation of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act,” he said.

In response to Kejriwal’s allegations, the Shahdara district magistrate posted on X, stating, “Only 494 Form 7 applications have been received in the Shahdara Assembly constituency since October 29, 2024. Therefore, the claim that 11,018 Form 7 applications were filed by the BJP in the last month is factually incorrect.”

The Delhi Assembly elections are expected to take place in early 2025. In the 2020

elections, AAP secured 62 out of the 70 seats, while the BJP won eight seats. The AAP’s allegations have sparked serious concerns about the transparency of

the upcoming Delhi elections, with Kejriwal calling for an immediate investigation into the issue.