728 voters in Yamuna JJ cluster seek return to draft electoral roll

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Residents of JJ cluster of Bela Estate polling part are helping each other fill out forms for re-inclusion on September 18, 2026 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Weeks ago, long-time residents of a Jhuggi Jhopri (JJ) cluster on the Yamuna floodplains, falling under the Bela Estate polling part of the Chandni Chowk Assembly constituency, were shocked to learn that their names would not figure in the draft electoral roll for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) , as their houses had been demolished in 2023 by a State authority.

The residents, however, continued to live at the same address in makeshift shanties and had cast their votes in the 2024 and 2025 elections.

As poll officials visited the area on Friday (September 18, 2026) to verify addresses during the ongoing claims and objections phase, the residents said they felt a step closer to having their names back on Delhi’s electoral roll.

On Wednesday (September 16), 462 residents of the JJ cluster near Vijay Ghat submitted Form 6, meant for new voters and those excluded during the enumeration process, to the officials. Of the 729 voters at the booth, 728 were put on the ASDD list for absent, shifted, dead and duplicate voters.

A resident, Badrinath Jha, said officials visited the area in the afternoon and called out names from at least 10-15 Form 6 applications to verify that the applicants lived there.

“Not everybody was present, because people had gone to their daily wage jobs. This is a fight to prove our existence and right to vote that everyone has. And we will win it,” he said.

Kamal Lal has been trying to meet officials and submit grievances after 728 of the 729 electors were left out of the Bela Estate polling part’s draft roll. He said 550 enumeration forms had been filled and submitted to the area Booth Level Officer (BLO).

“The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), Manoj Kumar, had come to tell us that even though we had handed over the enumeration forms, our names would not be in the draft roll because there was demolition action here by the DDA in 2023,” he said.

Mr. Lal, who had retrieved old electoral rolls dating back to 1962, said, “My great-grandfather’s names are on that roll. And then subsequent rolls. All our names were on the 2025 electoral roll of Delhi when we were residing here. Where can we go?”

He had kept photocopies of all 550 enumeration forms he had filled before handing them over to the BLO.

Mr. Lal said he was now hopeful that their names would be restored to the roll and that all the Form 6 applications would be accepted.

“We have submitted all the documents we had as address proof — from ration cards to gas connection cards, older rolls, voter ID, Aadhaar and 2002 roll records for declaration forms,” he said.