Voter 'deletion' issue : Kejriwal-led AAP delegation meets EC

New Delhi: An Aam Aadmi Party delegation led by Arvind Kejriwal met the Election Commission on Wednesday to address allegations of mass voter deletions ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections.

The party's national convenor, following the meeting, alleged that the BJP was orchestrating a conspiracy to remove voters, mostly from marginalised communities, including Dalits, Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Purvanchalis, from the electoral roll.

"We have submitted 3,000 pages of evidence showing how the BJP is conspiring to delete voters' names on a mass scale," Kejriwal claimed. He stated the EC provided several assurances, including that no large-scale deletions would occur without proper verification.

The former chief minister of Delhi also mentioned that in cases of voter deletions, a field inquiry will be conducted by the Booth Level Officer (BLO), accompanied by representatives from various political parties.

Kejriwal noted that if any individual applies to delete more than five voters' names, the concerned sub-divisional magistrate will carry out a field inquiry. The EC also assured AAP of strict action against those filing questionable deletion requests, he said.

The delegation included Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha and party leader Jasmine Shah. Earlier, Senior AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused BJP of submitting bulk applications to remove voters' names from the electoral rolls in seven constituencies fearing defeat in the upcoming assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference here with Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, Sisodia claimed, "When the BJP is unable to stop Arvind Kejriwal and unable to defeat him in elections, the BJP is trying to win it by other means." He alleged that the BJP members and supporters submitted mass applications to delete the names of 22,000 voters from the electoral rolls.

"This is a concerning issue which exposes how 22,000 voters are being deleted -- a potential conspiracy orchestrated by the BJP. The fact that the Election Commission is considering these applications is even more dangerous. The BJP may have felt that they would lose in this constituency and don't have enough supporters there which is why they are engaging in this voter deletion strategy," Sisodia added.