BJP deleting names of Delhi voters: Kejriwal
Kejriwal alleges BJP filed 11,000 voter deletions in Shahdara ahead of polls; BJP counters with claims of removing fake voters, sparking a political row.
Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has filed applications to delete the names of more than 11,000 living voters from the electoral roll in the Shahdara constituency ahead of the Delhi assembly polls, and said that his party will give a representation to the Election Commission of India (EC) to demand a probe into the matter.

In response, Shahdara district magistrate Rishita Gupta, the district election officer, said that the office has received only 494 copies of Form 7 -- used for objecting to any entry in the electoral roll – and that the AAP’s allegations are “factually incorrect.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, claimed that Kejriwal’s remarks were in response to the deletion of the names of “Rohingyas and Bangladeshis” from the election roll.
During the 2020 elections, the AAP’s Ram Niwas Goel won the Shahdara seat by defeating his BJP rival Jintender Singh Shunty by 5,294 votes.
Pointing to this narrow margin, Kejriwal at a press conference at the AAP headquarters alleged that the BJP was “attempting to delete 11,000 votes”. “What is the point of elections if this is how they are being manipulated?” he said, citing letters he claimed were signed and submitted by BJP leaders.
To be sure, the addition and deletion of voters is an annual exercise, with thousands of names added and deleted every year, on the basis of applications for the deletion of deceased voters, or those who have moved elsewhere. However, the AAP has claimed that while the deletion of around 0.2% of voters is normal, but the application for the deletion of up to 6% of voters is “alarming”.
Kejriwal claimed that “secret actions” were going on at the office of the Delhi chief electoral officer (CEO) for the deletions. “We checked 500 people out of 11,000 [proposed for deletion]... 372 people were still living there...75% of the list of 11,000 are bona fide voters whose names have been proposed for deletion,” he alleged.
“This is a direct attack on democracy. A voter’s right to cast their vote is fundamental, if this right has been curtailed then there is no point in being a citizen of the country… BJP and EC are openly conspiring to strip citizens of this basic right,” said Kejriwal.
The AAP also presented a group of party supporters who claimed that their names were proposed by the BJP to be deleted from the electoral roll, with Kejriwal claiming that the EC’s credibility is at stake.
“The BJP functionary who submitted this request to delete votes will face legal action. We will demand this from EC as well... This is a violation of Indian Penal Code sections… It also breaches the Representation of the People Act… Additionally, I warn all booth level officials, assistant electoral registration officers, and returning officers: do not indulge in wrongdoing… Governments come and go, but documents remain permanent,” he said, adding, “There should be an investigation into this vote deletion scam.”
The AAP chief said that according to the rules, EC must upload details of all applications for vote deletions on its website daily in Form 10. “Yet, as of yesterday, the Election Commission’s website showed only 487 applications for vote deletions in Shahdara constituency over the past month. This means that the 11,000 applications submitted by BJP are being processed secretly… raising questions about EC’s intentions,” Kejriwal said.
He also claimed that in the coming days, he will “expose” more such voter deletions at other assembly seats.
The Delhi CEO’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
However, Shahdara DM Gupta in a post on X said: “Only 494 form 7 (for deletion) is received in Shahdara Assembly constituency since 29 October, 2024. Hence, the claim that 11018 form 7 were filed by BJP in the last one month is factually incorrect.”
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said Kejriwal is “scared” because “fake votes by Rohingyas and Bangladeshis” have been removed in the upcoming elections.
“Between May and November 30, 2024, there were 533,778 applications for new voters, describing this as a calculated attempt to create fake votes... If BJP workers check this conspiracy to create fake votes, they are fulfilling their duties. This time, legal proceedings will be initiated against every fake vote,” he said.
The BJP also demanded an investigation into the “pattern of fake voters widespread across the city”.

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Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.