Gandhi alleges 727 Bela Estate voters were removed

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the names of 727 people in Delhi’s Bela Estate were removed from the draft electoral roll during a Special Intensive Revision, saying only one name remained among 728 residents. The Election Commission of India disputed the basis of his account, saying the area’s address records and residential status had changed. The available information does not independently establish the number of residents affected or verify the competing explanations. Gandhi made the allegation after visiting Bela Estate, on the banks of the Yamuna, on September 28. He said residents had lived there for decades and had voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2025 Delhi elections. He also said their homes were demolished in 2023 but that they continued to live in the area. Gandhi argued that lacking a conventional house should not prevent someone from voting and described the deletions as vote theft. The Election Commission said most Bela Estate addresses were recorded as agricultural land and that house numbers were available for only a few.