Election Commission orders cross-check of voter list deletions in Delhi amid BJP, AAP complaints

The Election Commission on Friday instructed the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer to cross-check all deletions in polling stations where more than 2% of the electors had been removed from the voters’ list.

The chief electoral officer was also asked to check deletions in cases where the same person had objected in more than five cases. The poll panel stated that any elector from the same Assembly constituency can object to the inclusion of a name on the electoral rolls if the person had permanently relocated or died.

The Assembly polls in Delhi are expected to take place in or before February. The Election Commission has not announced the schedule yet.

The instructions came hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party submitted a memorandum to the poll panel requesting the removal of alleged undocumented migrants and “ghost voters” from the electoral rolls of the national capital.

On Wednesday, Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party had also urged the Commission not to undertake mass deletion of voters from the list before the polls.

The Election Commission instructed the chief electoral officer that the grievances raised by the two political parties “has to be examined carefully” and necessary action needs to be taken “strictly following the laid down statutory provisions and commission/s guidelines contained in the manual of electoral...

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