The issuance of notices under Delhi’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has sparked competing responses from political parties, turning the Election Commission’s voter-verification exercise into a major political discussion in the national capital.
Nearly 33.13 lakh electors — about one-third of those included in the draft rolls — have been flagged for discrepancies such as “no mapping” with the previous (2002) SIR or logical inconsistencies in their details. Notices have gone to leaders across the political spectrum, including Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and BJP veteran L.K. Advani.
AAP’s Strong Criticism
The Aam Aadmi Party has been the most vocal critic of the process.
AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj termed the SIR exercise a “fraud” and questioned how the details of a three-time Chief Minister like Arvind Kejriwal and his family could not be mapped. He asked what ordinary citizens without media access or political connections would face in such a situation.
AAP leaders have alleged that the process is being used for political purposes and have expressed concern that large-scale notices could disproportionately affect common voters.
Cross-Party Notices and Official Clarification
Notices were also issued to several BJP leaders and other prominent figures, including members of L.K. Advani’s family and senior officials. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s entry was later validated after document verification and kept for inclusion in the final roll.
The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer’s office and the Election Commission of India have issued clear statements:
Receiving a notice does not mean the voter’s name will be deleted from the electoral rolls.
Notices are system-generated to correct data and form part of the claims-and-objections phase.
No name can be removed without giving the elector an opportunity to be heard and following a proper, appealable process.
Electors have been asked to submit responses and supporting documents to the concerned Electoral Registration Officer or Booth Level Officer. The disposal of notices is expected to be completed by late October, with the final electoral roll scheduled for publication on November 4, 2026.
Broader Political Discussion
The presence of high-profile names from different parties on the notice list has been cited by the poll body to underline that the exercise is technical rather than targeted. At the same time, opposition parties continue to raise questions about the scale of the revision, the mapping methodology with older records, and the potential impact on ordinary voters.
The debate reflects the high political stakes around electoral roll accuracy in Delhi ahead of future elections. Both the Election Commission and political parties are watching the verification process closely as it moves toward the final publication of the rolls.