Rijiju shares Kejriwal's 2015 video demanding voter roll revision amid SIR row
Synopsis
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has weaponised a 2015 video of Arvind Kejriwal demanding intensive voter roll revision — the very exercise AAP now calls 'vote chori' — to expose what the BJP frames as a stark contradiction in the Opposition's stance on electoral integrity.
Key Takeaways
Kiren Rijiju shared a 2015 video of Arvind Kejriwal on 11 October 2026 , in which Kejriwal demands intensive revision of Delhi's electoral rolls.
In January 2015 , Kejriwal alleged that 3.96–4 lakh people held approximately 11.5 lakh voter identity cards , implying widespread duplicates.
Rijiju argued the video contradicts the Opposition's current criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which AAP and Congress have labelled 'vote chori' .
Earlier in the week, Rijiju had shared a video of former Law Minister Kapil Sibal from Parliament to similarly rebut Congress's allegations on voter deletions.
The Opposition has demanded cancellation of the SIR, restoration of old electoral rolls, and the resignation or arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar .
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday, 11 October 2026, shared a 2015 video of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on X, in which Kejriwal is seen demanding an intensive revision of Delhi's electoral rolls over alleged large-scale irregularities, including bogus and duplicate voter entries. The move is part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s broader counter-offensive against Opposition criticism of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
What Rijiju Posted and Why
Sharing the decade-old clip on X, Rijiju took aim at both Kejriwal and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, arguing that Kejriwal's earlier stance directly contradicts the Opposition's current opposition to the SIR process. 'After Kapil Sibal, once again Kejriwal Ji's old video demanding SIR exposed himself and Rahul Gandhi Ji,' Rijiju wrote in his post, drawing a pointed parallel between past demands and present criticism.
The BJP's strategy appears deliberate: by surfacing archive footage of Opposition leaders calling for exactly the kind of voter list scrutiny that the SIR entails, the ruling party seeks to frame the current Opposition stance as politically opportunistic rather than principled.
What Kejriwal Said in 2015
In January 2015, ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Kejriwal and the AAP publicly alleged serious discrepancies in Delhi's electoral rolls. Kejriwal claimed at the time that approximately 3.96 lakh to 4 lakh people allegedly held around 11.5 lakh voter identity cards, implying that some individuals possessed between two and four cards each. The AAP also raised concerns about apparent similarities between Delhi's electoral rolls and those of neighbouring states, including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, alleging that such overlaps could enable cross-boundary voter manipulation. As part of its campaign, the AAP reportedly submitted data and CDs containing suspected duplicate voter entries to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The Kapil Sibal Connection
Rijiju's post on Kejriwal follows a similar attack earlier in the week. On Wednesday, Rijiju shared a video of senior advocate and former Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal addressing Parliament during his tenure as Law Minister, in which Sibal reportedly explained the established categories under which names may be deleted from electoral rolls. Rijiju argued that Sibal's own parliamentary remarks undermined the Congress party's current allegations of arbitrary voter deletions. In his post, Rijiju wrote: 'I don't like Kapil Sibal as he is always found to be protecting the corrupt, extremists and anti-social elements. For the first time, I like him because he has exposed the bogus vote chori drama of Congress party through his old speech in Parliament as Law Minister!!' By juxtaposing Sibal's past explanation with the party's present criticism, Rijiju sought to question the internal consistency of the Opposition's position.
Opposition's Stand on the SIR Exercise
The AAP and Congress have been vocal critics of the ongoing SIR, describing the process as 'vote chori' (vote theft) and demanding its cancellation. Opposition leaders have also called for the restoration of previous electoral rolls and have sought the resignation — or arrest — of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Opposition has raised broader concerns about transparency, accountability, and the potential exclusion of eligible voters during the revision exercise. These concerns remain unaddressed by the Election Commission in any formal public response as of this report.
Significance and What Comes Next
The exchange marks a deepening of the political confrontation over India's electoral infrastructure, with the BJP leaning on archival record to blunt the Opposition's credibility on voter rights. Notably, this is at least the second instance this week of Rijiju deploying video evidence to rebut Opposition criticism of the SIR — a pattern that suggests a coordinated messaging approach ahead of potential electoral cycles. How the AAP and Congress respond to the specifics of the 2015 Kejriwal clip is likely to shape the next phase of the debate over the SIR's legitimacy.
Point of View
By itself, validate the process or methodology of today's exercise. Opposition contradictions are fair game, but the BJP has yet to address the Opposition's specific concerns about transparency and the risk of disenfranchising eligible voters — concerns that stand independent of who said what in 2015. The real accountability deficit here is the Election Commission's silence on the procedural guardrails of the SIR.
NationPress
11 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that is at the centre of this controversy?
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is an Election Commission of India exercise to scrutinise and update voter lists, aimed at removing bogus, duplicate, or ineligible entries while adding eligible new voters. The Opposition — including AAP and Congress — has criticised the current SIR as opaque and potentially exclusionary, calling it 'vote chori', while the BJP argues it is a necessary clean-up of electoral rolls.
What did Arvind Kejriwal demand in his 2015 video shared by Rijiju?
In January 2015, ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Kejriwal demanded an intensive revision of Delhi's electoral rolls, alleging that roughly 3.96 to 4 lakh people held approximately 11.5 lakh voter identity cards — implying widespread duplicate registrations. The AAP also alleged cross-state roll similarities with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and submitted data to the Election Commission.
Why has Kiren Rijiju also targeted Kapil Sibal in this row?
Rijiju shared an archival video of Kapil Sibal speaking in Parliament as Union Law Minister, in which Sibal reportedly explained the established categories under which names can be deleted from electoral rolls. Rijiju used this to argue that Sibal's own parliamentary remarks contradict the Congress party's current allegations that the SIR is arbitrarily deleting eligible voters.
What is the Opposition demanding over the electoral roll revision?
The AAP and Congress have demanded the cancellation of the SIR exercise and restoration of the previous electoral rolls. They have also called for the resignation or arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, citing concerns about transparency, accountability, and the risk of eligible voters being dropped from the rolls.
How does the BJP justify the ongoing SIR in the face of Opposition criticism?
The BJP argues that Opposition leaders who previously demanded removal of bogus voters and correction of electoral rolls are now, contradictorily, opposing a process designed to do exactly that. By surfacing videos of Kejriwal and Sibal, the ruling party frames the Opposition's current stance as politically motivated rather than a principled defence of voter rights.
