New Delhi, Sept. 29 -- The Election Commission has responded to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegation that 727 out of 728 people living in Bela Estate, a settlement along the Yamuna in Delhi, were removed from the electoral roll during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Gandhi had raised the issue after visiting the area and alleged that only one person's name remained on the voter list after the revision exercise. He questioned the deletion of the other names and described the development as an instance of "vote chori". The Election Commission, however, said the names were placed on the ASDD list - referring to electors who are absent, shifted, dead or duplicate - following verification by Booth Level Officers.
According to the poll panel, most of the electors in the area had addresses recorded as "agriculture", while house numbers were available only for a few. It said agricultural activities in the area, including illegal cultivation, had stopped in 2021 and existing dwelling units were demolished during 2022-23. The Commission said these changes altered the physical and residential status of the area. Since the people concerned were no longer considered "ordinary residents" at the recorded addresses, Booth Level Officers placed their names on the ASDD list in accordance with the SIR instructions. The poll panel also clarified that being moved to the ASDD list does not permanently prevent an eligible person from being included in the electoral roll.
It said voters whose names are missing from the electoral roll can apply for inclusion if they meet the eligibility requirements under Section 19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Applications for inclusion in the final electoral roll can be submitted between August 31 and September 30, 2026. The Election Commission said the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 4. Different forms are available for different electoral-roll requirements. Form 6 is used for new voter enrolment, while Form 6A is meant for registration of overseas Indian voters. Form 7 can be used to raise an objection to a proposed inclusion or seek deletion of a name, while Form 8 covers shifting of residence, correction of details and replacement of an EPIC, among other requests. Applications can be submitted to the Electoral Registration Officer or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer, Booth Level Officers or designated polling-station locations. Gandhi had shared a video of his visit to Bela Estate and said that 728 people lived in the area, but only one name remained on the voter list after the SIR. He claimed that the residents had been living there for decades and had voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and the 2025 Delhi Assembly election.
He also said their homes were demolished in 2023 but alleged that the residents had continued to remain in the area. During his interaction concerning the voter deletions, Gandhi questioned the authorities over the status of the residents and the basis for removing their names. Gandhi also referred to an earlier statement by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar concerning "House Number 0" and homeless voters while questioning how people living in the area could lose their voting rights. The dispute comes amid the broader political controversy surrounding the SIR exercise and the Election Commission's functioning. Opposition parties have repeatedly raised concerns about possible exclusion of eligible voters from electoral rolls and have demanded greater transparency in the revision process. The Election Commission has maintained that its SIR-related decisions have received unanimous approval from all three members of the Commission. It has also said that changes made to Form 6 for voter enrolment were upheld by the Supreme Court. The poll panel has further clarified another issue that emerged amid the recent reports of differences between the three commissioners. It said letters sent by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary concerned an officer on deputation and were not related to policy or the IT division. The Bela Estate dispute has therefore become another flashpoint in the continuing debate over the SIR exercise, with Gandhi questioning the deletion of voter names and the Election Commission maintaining that the names were placed on the ASDD list following verification of the residents' addresses and status.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.