Delhi Elections 2025: BJP claims Arvind Kejriwal house renovation scam; AAP claims voter roll tampering

New Delhi: The Delhi election pitch heated up on Monday as BJP attacked former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal over the expenditure on the renovation of his official residence while the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wrote to the Election Commission of India (ECI) accusing the BJP of surreptitiously trying to delete and add names in Delhi's electoral rolls.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi chief minister presented data and testimonies, allegedly showing widespread tampering with the voter rolls. The party accused the BJP of "orchestrating the fraud" to influence the elections in the New Delhi constituency, which is represented by Kejriwal since 2013. "Between December 15, 2024, and January 2, 2025, over 10,500 new voter addition applications - amounting to 10% of the constituency's total voter base - were submitted after the ECI's summary voter revision ended," Atishi alleged.

The chief minister said that simultaneously, 6,167 applications for voter deletions, constituting nearly 5.77% of the electorate, were filed during the same period. "The majority of these applications were fraudulent, with objectors summoned by the ECI denying any involvement," Atishi said.


The chief minister has written a letter to the ECI highlighting these issues while demanding immediate action, including 100% verification of objectors, house-to-house surveys, public disclosure of applicant details, and telephonic confirmations to prevent further fraud.

Meanwhile, the BJP continued its attack on the AAP chief over the renovation of his official residence during his tenure as the chief minister.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Monday cited a CAG report highlighting discrepancies in the construction work at Kejriwal's residence. Patra pointed out that the estimated amount was ₹7 crore and 61 lakh, while the final payment made was ₹33 crore and ₹66 lakh, which was 342.31% more than the estimated cost of the renovation of the residence.

"It is surprising that the CAG report suggests that on March 17, 2020, Delhi's PWD department had provided a proposal to remodel Kejriwal's residence. The one-storey building was to be demolished, and another storey was to be added. The proposal was passed within a single day, and it might be the first time that any proposal has been accepted on the same day," Patra told media persons.

He also alleged that the public works department, instead of functioning as a government agency for construction of the bungalow, acted as a "private organisation" to please Kejriwal.