Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal expressed concerns over the deployment of Gujarat Police officers in Delhi during the elections, triggering a political controversy. Kejriwal wrote on ‘X’, “Read this order from Gujarat Police. The Election Commission has removed Punjab Police from Delhi and replaced them with Gujarat Police. What’s happening here?”
His remarks referred to the Election Commission’s decision to withdraw Punjab Police personnel from his security detail. In response, the Delhi Police clarified that the deployment of out-of-state officers is common during elections. “Police personnel from states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand are also coming to Delhi for election duties,” a senior Delhi police official told Indian Express.
Around 70 police companies from other states, including eight from Gujarat, have been deployed to Delhi for various election-related tasks such as border checks, patrolling, area monitoring, and securing critical polling and counting stations. However, these officers are not assigned to VIP duties, the official noted.
In response to Kejriwal’s criticism, Gujarat’s Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi tweeted, “Now I understand why people call you a trickster. Kejriwal ji, as a former Chief Minister, I’m surprised you’re not familiar with the Election Commission’s norms. They’ve requested forces from several states, not just Gujarat. In fact, the Election Commission of India ordered the SRP to be deployed from various states as a routine procedure. As per their request, eight SRP companies from Gujarat were sent to Delhi for the elections on 11/1/25. Why the selective mention of Gujarat, Kejriwal ji?”