Arvind Kejriwal, the national coordinator of the Aam Aadmi Party, recently accused the BJP-led central government of orchestrating the removal of eligible voters from Delhi's voter list. He alleged that the names being removed belonged to AAP supporters. In response, the Delhi State Election Commission convened an all-party meeting on Tuesday to discuss their stance on the matter.
During this meeting, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) expressed deep concern over the alleged removal of voters' names from various assembly regions. Both parties claimed that election officials were omitting names without granting voters a proper chance to voice their concerns. They emphasized that such sudden deletions were undermining public confidence in the democratic process and could impact the forthcoming assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the BJP appeared satisfied with the Delhi State Election Commission's process and raised no objections to the method of voter list revisions. The Chief Election Officer of Delhi and his team reported to the parties that approximately 400,000 applications for new voter registrations were received. Despite this information, senior AAP leaders Pankaj Gupta and Jasmine Shah remarked that the removal of names from the voter list was being conducted without prior notice or due hearings.
Expressing concern, Congress leader Chatar Singh highlighted that since the 2013 assembly elections, at least 10% new voters have been added to the voter list in every election, but this time, only slightly more than 3% have been added. He claimed that even if all applicants were included, voter growth would not reach 10% compared to previous elections. The BJP pointed out that an unusual number of voters registered at single addresses in areas like slums.
The BJP indicated that these issues pointed to irregularities, urging the Delhi State Election Commission to take action to ensure free and transparent elections. In this meeting, the Delhi State Election Commission addressed different political parties' concerns and the accuracy of the voter list. The Chief Election Officer of Delhi promised to thoroughly review all parties' concerns and applications.
