‘Tell Me Your Name, Designation’: Rahul Gandhi Confronts SDM Over Voter List Deletions In Delhi's Bela Estate

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the names of 727 residents of Delhi’s Bela Estate, located along the Yamuna, were deleted from the electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), leaving only one name from the locality on the voter list.

Gandhi shared a video of his visit to the area on social media platform X, where he is seen interacting with residents and speaking to an SDM over the phone regarding the alleged deletion of names.

During the conversation, Gandhi questioned the official about the removal of the residents’ names from the electoral rolls. Dissatisfied with the response, he told the SDM, “Aap apna naam aur designation bataiye, aapko alag tareeke se dekhenge” (Tell me your name and designation, we will look into you separately).

Sharing the video, Gandhi claimed that 728 people live in Bela Estate along the Yamuna, but after the SIR exercise, only one name remained on the voter list.

“728 people live in Bela Estate along the Yamuna. After SIR, only one name remained on the voter list, the other 727 names were deleted,” Gandhi said.

He claimed that the residents had been living in the area for decades and had voted in both the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections.

Gandhi further alleged that their houses were demolished in 2023, but the residents continued to live in the same area.

“Today I went to their slum and heard directly from them what the Election Commission has done to them,” he said.

The Congress leader also questioned the basis for deleting the names of residents who allegedly do not have formal houses. He said he told the SDM that having a house or not having one has no connection with a person's right to vote.

Gandhi referred to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's reported remarks regarding the use of “House Number 0” for homeless voters, arguing that the same principle should apply to the residents of Bela Estate.

“Then why were the names of 727 people deleted?” Gandhi asked, alleging that the exercise was not merely an electoral roll revision but “a method of vote theft.”

He said the people affected were among those who already had the least resources and alleged that their “only power”, their right to vote, was being taken away.

The allegations came as Congress workers staged protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in different parts of the country on Monday. Gandhi also targeted the CEC in his post, saying, “Gyanesh Kumar will go. But the system that made him do this will also be held accountable.”