The final voter list for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections has been officially released, amidst a war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer has reported a net increase of 1,67,329 voters from the draft to the final publication of the electoral roll for the Delhi Assembly Election 2025. This increase resulted from 3,08,942 new additions and 1,41,613 deletions during the revision period. The total number of registered voters now stands at 1,55,24,858, comprising 83,49,645 male, 71,73,952 female, and 1,261 third-gender voters. This marks a 1.09% increase over the 1,53,57,529 electors listed in the draft electoral roll published on October 29, 2024.
Both AAP and the BJP have accused each other of tampering with the voters' list ahead of the Delhi Assembly Election 2025. AAP has raised concerns about the alleged removal of their supporters' names from the electoral roll, claiming unauthorised deletions. On the other hand, the BJP has pointed to discrepancies in the voters' list, attributing them to the presence of illegal immigrants and relocated individuals, which they believe has led to inaccurate additions.
AAP had accused the BJP of filing bulk applications to delete the names of voters perceived to support the Kejriwal-led party.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged that voter names were being deleted in the New Delhi Assembly constituency, from where AAP convener and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is contesting. Singh claimed that after the summary revision process closed last month, the BJP filed applications to delete 5,000 names and add 7,500 names in the constituency.
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"Bharatiya Janata Party is conducting a targeted operation to delete names of AAP voters in New Delhi. Names of citizens living here for 40 to 50 years are being deleted. Tomorrow BJP might even get their homes bulldozed and claim that they never lived here," Singh alleged on Friday.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva hit back, accusing AAP leaders, including Singh, of threatening election officers. "Kejriwal is losing from the New Delhi Assembly constituency, and this fear of defeat has left the Aam Aadmi Party in a state of panic," Sachdeva said.
DEO Rejects AAP's Claims
The district election officer (DEO) of New Delhi on Saturday dismissed Singh's allegations as "baseless". In a post on X, the DEO clarified that claims regarding the non-provision of details of applicants seeking vote deletion and deliberate voter name deletion were "factually incorrect and baseless".
The DEO, who also serves as the district magistrate of New Delhi during elections, emphasized that the process of deleting names from the electoral roll follows a strict verification procedure as per the Election Commission's guidelines. "A mere submission of a list for deletion does not start the process," the officer explained.
According to the DEO, the deletion process adheres to the Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines. "As per the ECI guidelines, the summary of Form 7, which includes the names of both the objectors and objectees, is shared with all recognised political parties, including AAP, on a weekly basis through Form 10," the DEO stated in a post on X.