‘Sheesh Mahal’: BJP flags Kejriwal’s ₹41.5L power bill

The RTI query, filed by activist Kanhaiya Kumar, showed that seven ministers of the AAP government collectively had power bills totalling ₹1.15 crore for the two-year period from October 2022 to October 2024

New Delhi

The bungalow at 6, Flag Staff Road. (HT Archive)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday attacked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal over electricity charges of ₹41.5 lakh he incurred from October 2022 to October 2024 during his stay at the 6, Flag Staff Road residence in Civil Lines.

Citing an RTI report, a copy of which was accessed by HT, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said that the AAP was not for the common man at all.

“Not so AAM (common) after all? As per RTI reply Arvind Kejriwal consumed power worth ₹ 41.51 lakh within a period of 2 years from Oct 2022 to Oct 2024. Approximate bill per day is ₹5,700 for 770+ units per day. Aam Admi consumes about 250-300 units a month! This was the true face of Kejriwal,” he posted on X.

The AAP did not respond to request for comment.

To be sure, there appear to be certain discrepancies in the RTI data . For instance, the social welfare minister’s residence reportedly consumed a little over 158,000 units between October 2, 2022, and June 1, 2024, yet the bill amounted to just ₹4,99,598. In case of Sisodia’s residence, 126,000 units were consumed, generating a bill of around ₹15 lakh.

Raking up the party’s nickname of “Sheesh Mahal” for the bungalow due to an alleged spend of ₹45 crore of public money for renovations, Poonawala said that in the two-year period, 560,000 units of power were consumed at the CM’s residence. “How many ACs were being run at the CM house? One day bill is more than what people consume in a month. This is obscene amount of power usage? He has wasted so much money,” he said in the post.

The RTI query, filed by activist Kanhaiya Kumar, showed that seven ministers of the AAP government collectively had power bills totalling ₹1.15 crore for the two-year period from October 2022 to October 2024.

According to RTI response, the electricity bill was ₹41,51,350 for 560,335 units at the Flag Staff Road bungalow.

Education minister Manish Sisodia’s residence on Mathura Road clocked electricity charges of ₹14,95,722 for 126,749.75 units from September 26, 2022, to September 30, 2024. General administration minister Gopal Rai’s house clocked bills totalling ₹21,72,700 for 161,883.14 units during the same period, and health minister’s residence at 8, Raj Niwas Marg, clocked ₹10,53,520 for 68,581.46 units.