Kejriwal alleges BJP filed 11,000 voter deletion requests in Delhi

Former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal has alleged large-scale voter deletions from the electoral rolls in the Shahdara constituency ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. He accused the BJP of orchestrating this move to target AAP supporters, calling it a “threat to democracy.”

Kejriwal claimed that the BJP submitted applications to delete the names of 11,018 voters in Shahdara. A preliminary inquiry into 500 of these names revealed that 75% of the individuals are still residing at the listed addresses. “The BJP is using this tactic to influence election outcomes. In Shahdara alone, most of the names being deleted are AAP supporters,” Kejriwal said during a press conference on Friday.

The AAP leader highlighted that his party had won the Shahdara seat in the 2020 elections by around 5,000 votes. He further alleged that removing 11,000 voters, predominantly AAP supporters, would severely impact the constituency’s election outcome. “This is an assault on people's fundamental right to vote. It undermines the democratic process,” he said.

The Shahdara District Magistrate countered these allegations, stating that only 494 Form 7 applications—used to request voter deletions—had been received since October 29, 2024. “The claim that 11,018 forms were filed by the BJP in the last month is factually incorrect,” the DM clarified in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

AAP has demanded immediate action from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure transparency. Kejriwal urged the ECI to upload all voter deletion applications on its website by evening, enabling public scrutiny and safeguarding the electoral process.

The assembly elections in Delhi are anticipated in early 2025. AAP, which secured a landslide victory in 2020 by winning 62 out of 70 seats, now faces a new challenge amid allegations of electoral roll tampering.