EC Responds to Rahul Gandhi's Bela Estate Deletion Claim

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has alleged that 727 of 728 voters in Delhi's Bela Estate were removed from the electoral roll during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Gandhi raised the issue after visiting the settlement along the Yamuna and speaking with residents about their names being missing from the voter list. He described the development as “vote theft” and questioned how residents who he said had lived in the area for decades and voted in previous elections could have their names removed. The Election Commission has since issued a clarification explaining the basis for the voters being placed in the ASDD category.

Gandhi shared a video of his visit in which he spoke with a sub-divisional magistrate about the voter deletions. He said 728 people lived in the area but only one name remained on the electoral roll after the SIR exercise, while the other 727 names had been struck off. Gandhi also said the residents had voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and the 2025 Delhi Assembly election. He argued that although their homes had been demolished in 2023, the residents had not left the area and questioned the basis for treating them as no longer eligible to remain registered there. His comments formed part of his broader criticism of the Election Commission's implementation of the SIR process.

The Election Commission, however, said the voters were moved to the ASDD list, which covers electors classified as absent, shifted, dead or duplicate. According to the poll body, most of the electors' addresses in Bela Estate were recorded as “agriculture”, while house numbers were available for only a few residents. The Commission said agricultural activity in the area, including illegal cultivation, had stopped in 2021 and that existing dwelling units were demolished during 2022-23. Because the physical and residential status of the area had changed, Booth Level Officers placed the electors in the ASDD category in accordance with the instructions governing the revision.

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The Commission further said that the removal from the current roll does not prevent eligible individuals from seeking inclusion. It said electors who meet the requirements under Section 19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, can apply for enrolment. The poll body has also specified different forms for electoral-roll related requests, including Form 6 for inclusion of a voter, Form 7 for objections to proposed inclusion or requests for deletion, and Form 8 for shifting residence and correcting voter details. Applications can be submitted through Electoral Registration Officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers and Booth Level Officers, as well as designated polling locations.

The Bela Estate dispute comes amid a wider political disagreement over the SIR exercise in Delhi and other parts of India. Gandhi has questioned the process and the role of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while the Election Commission has maintained that electoral-roll changes are being carried out under established procedures. The Commission's official website identifies Gyanesh Kumar as the current Chief Election Commissioner and lists Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as the two Election Commissioners. The poll body has also continued to provide voter-registration and electoral-roll services through its official voter services system.

The competing accounts over Bela Estate therefore centre on the status of the residents and the interpretation of their addresses following the demolition of dwelling units. Gandhi has argued that the residents remain in the area and should not lose their voting rights merely because their homes were demolished, while the Election Commission has said the registered addresses and residential conditions had changed, leading Booth Level Officers to classify the electors under ASDD during the revision. Eligible residents whose names are missing from the electoral roll can use the prescribed enrolment process to seek inclusion, making the claims-and-objections stage an important part of the ongoing SIR exercise.

Also Read: EC Rejects Rahul Gandhi's 'Vote Theft' Charge, Explains Mass Deletions In Delhi