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BJP's ‘Sheesh Mahal’ jibe at Kejriwal isn't new. Here's how row 2.0 emerged
While the AAP denied allegations and questioned the veracity of photos shared by BJP, it was Delhi minister Parvesh Verma who took the lead in the attack
AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal has once again found himself in a controversy surrounding his residence. This time it involves a new Type-VII bungalow in Delhi’s Lodhi Garden, and a tag that has long been associated with him: “Sheesh Mahal” ('Glass Palace').
The BJP on Saturday slammed Kejriwal over living “lavishly” in his new bungalow allotted to him at Lodhi Estate, dubbing it as “Sheesh Mahal 2”, referring it as a sequel to charges made about renovations at the official CM residence when Kejriwal was chief minister of Delhi.
While the AAP denied the allegations and even questioned the veracity of some images shared by the BJP, it was Delhi's public works department minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma who took the lead in the attack.
He displayed some photos and claimed these were from the Type VII bungalow given to Kejriwal in his capacity as a party's chief. Verma said that the Central Public Works Department does not spend such money on bungalows, and claimed that "private money" was spent to create some amenities.
"After he was forced out of ‘Sheesh Mahal’ by the dhurandhar ['stalwart', but more a reference to a recent movie] voters of Delhi, he shifted to Punjab, where he grabbed a bungalow, and now he has prepared ‘Sheesh Mahal 2’ at Lodhi Estate," Verma alleged.
Verma claimed that Kejriwal's new residence at 95 Lodhi Estate has five bedrooms and four drawing rooms. He said it has amenities superior to any other bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi, including those of the leaders of other parties, such as the Congress and the DMK.
Raghav Chadha, who recently sent shockwaves within the Aam Aadmi Party by announcing his exit and joining the BJP, also criticised Kejriwal over his “lavish” bungalow, saying that was why the AAP lost in Delhi.
“Sheesh Mahal Part Two has come in Delhi. Some pictures of it have surfaced. If there was one major reason for the Aam Aadmi Party's loss in the Delhi elections,” Chadha said in a media interaction on Saturday.
Photographs are fake , says Atishi
Former Delhi CM Atishi from the AAP said the pictures shown by Verma were fake.
In an X post in Hindi, she said, “All the pictures released by Parvesh Verma are fake. They are not pictures of Kejriwal ji's house.”
She said the pictures were downloaded from the social media site Pinterest “to defame” Kejriwal.
“What times these have become for them - when they can't find anything against Kejriwal ji, they're making false claims based on images picked up from the internet. Parvesh Verma ji: You could've used AI for this instead; the theft won't have got caught this quickly at least,” Atishi said.
She added that to see who “lives lavishly”, chief minister Rekha Gupta and lieutenant governor sahib should open their own houses, and Kejriwal ji will open his house. The public will decide for itself.”
Genesis of the 'Sheesh Mahal' row
This isn’t the first time the AAP convener is under fire for his residence; it's probably a third time if a Punjab angle was counted too.
In 2025, a similar controversy emerged between the BJP and Kejriwal regarding a “7-star” luxury bungalow in Punjab capital Chandigarh, where Kejriwal allegedly lived as the AAP remains in power in the state.
The BJP had then accused Kejriwal of readying a “luxurious 7-star, two-acre government bungalow” in Sector 2 of Chandigarh for himself from Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s “quota”.
“After vacating the Sheesh Mahal in Delhi, Punjab’s ‘Super CM’ Arvind Kejriwal has now had an even more magnificent Sheesh Mahal prepared in Punjab,” the BJP had posted on X, sharing a satellite image of the bungalow.
The AAP had dismissed the claims and challenged the BJP to produce any such allotment letter.
The term ‘Sheesh Mahal’ with reference to Kejriwal was first by the BJP to describe the former residence of Kejriwal at 6 Flagstaff Road in Delhi's Civil Lines.
That was in the run-up to the Delhi assembly polls in which the AAP lost to BJP. The residence-renovation row and the Delhi liquor sales policy — a case in which Kejriwal and others were recently discharged by a trial court of all corruption allegations — formed the bedrock of the BJP's poll campaign then.
Union minister Amit Shah had alleged that over ₹6 crore was spent on designer marbles, ₹6 crore on motorised curtains, ₹70 lakh on automatic doors, ₹50 lakh on carpets and ₹64 lakh on smart TVs at the chief minister's residence when Kejriwal occupied it.
