Rahul Gandhi alleges EC removed 727 of 728 voters from Delhi's Bela Estate, says homeless residents lost voting rights

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday targeted the Election Commission over the deletion of voter names at Bela Estate in the national capital, alleging it was a "method of vote theft."

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday targeted the Election Commission over the deletion of voter names at Bela Estate in the national capital, alleging it was a "method of vote theft". In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi alleged, "728 people live in Bela Estate on the banks of the Yamuna. After SIR, only one name remains in the voter list - the other 727 names have been struck off. These people have been living here for decades. They have already voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 Delhi elections. In 2023, their homes were demolished – but they didn't go anywhere; they're still right here."

Visiting the area, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said he interacted with the residents to understand their grievances. "Today I went to their jhuggi and heard directly from them what the Election Commission has done to them. On the phone with the SDM, I said exactly this – having a house or not has no connection to the right to vote. CEC Gyanesh Kumar himself has said that 'House Number 0' is for the homeless. Yet, 727 people's names have been struck off. This isn't SIR – this is a method of vote theft," he said.

Criticising the poll panel leadership, Gandhi added, "From those who already have the least, their only power is being snatched away. Gyanesh Kumar will go. But the system that made him do this will also have to answer." Earlier on Saturday, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of "match-fixing elections". Gandhi cited a Malyalam news channel report which said that the CEC had approached former Keralam Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson to contest for the BJP.

"First, Gyanesh Kumar – then a serving IAS officer – was used to recruit for the BJP. Then Modi and Shah made him the umpire and put him in charge of match-fixing India's elections," Gandhi said on X. The remark came after the Congress's Kerala unit posted the Asianet report on X, saying, "Big revelation on Gyanesh Kumar. Former Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson says Gyanesh Kumar approached him and asked him to contest on a BJP ticket, even offering a ministerial position. Who was Gyanesh Kumar to make such an offer? On whose authority was he speaking? And why was the Election Commissioner allegedly involved in political recruitment for BJP back in 2016?"

As per the Asianet News report, Thomson claimed that he was approached by Kumar in 2016 who suggested he contest on a BJP ticket. Jiji Thomson told the News Channel that the purported conversation with the CEC took place on a flight to Delhi in 2016, around the time of his retirement.

"He (Kumar) asked me what my plans were after retirement. So, I said, no, I don't have any particular plans. I am thinking of introducing a program to improve the children's future, and so on. That is what I said. So, he said, the best thing is for you to contest the election in 2019, contest as a BJP candidate. Then become an MP, then become a Minister," Thomson told the News Channel. He said he turned down the offer, "I said no, I don't have any interest in the election."

Thomson noted Gyanesh Kumar was still in government service at the time, adding, "There is a limit to political interference in the service," he said. Rahul Gandhi's fresh attack on the CEC comes amid mounting opposition criticism of the Election Commission after a report in The Indian Express said that decisions regarding the SIR process were objected to by two of the three Election Commissioners. The report stated that Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections multiple times over decisions and orders issued without their knowledge.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) clarified it's position on Saturday and said all decisions related to the schedule of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were taken with the "unanimous approval of the Commission". The EC further stated that a letter sent to the Cabinet Secretary was related to the functioning of an officer on deputation and not any policy matter of the poll body. (ANI)