NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva on Saturday alleged that former CM and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal led a lavish lifestyle at the taxpayers’s expense, citing data obtained through an RTI query that showed an average annual maintenance cost of over Rs 3.69 crore for his former official residence at 6, Flagstaff Road, which is also dubbed as “Sheesh Mahal” by the BJP, between the time span of 2015 and 2022.
The Aam Aadmi Party has so far not responded to BJP’s allegations.
Speaking at a press conference hosted by BJP Delhi, Sachdeva said, “The truth behind Kejriwal’s five-star lifestyle, which he tried to hide while claiming to run a simple government, was first exposed by the Rs 52 crore ‘Sheesh Mahal’ renovation. Today, we are presenting fresh evidence of his extravagant living and alleged corruption in governance, and we demand answers from him.”
According to Sachdeva, the RTI application was filed by a Maharashtra resident and the reply was provided by the Delhi government on December 29, 2023. The applicant then forwarded the response to the Delhi BJP. The information revealed that Rs 29.56 crore was spent on routine maintenance—covering repairs, sewerage, electrical and carpentry work—at Kejriwal’s Flagstaff Road bungalow between March 31, 2015, and December 27, 2022.
“This means that on average, Rs 3.69 crore 54 thousand 384 was spent annually on maintenance alone,” Sachdeva said. “Even the upkeep of properties owned by industrialists or large multiplex complexes in Delhi wouldn’t cost this much annually. It shows the royal standards Kejriwal maintained—or perhaps points to another case of corruption.”
He further questioned the justification behind such high maintenance costs. “In a city like Delhi, one can build a 250–300 square yard bungalow for Rs 3–4 crore. Yet, Kejriwal’s bungalow needed that much just for yearly maintenance? It’s shocking.”
Sachdeva went on to challenge the former Delhi CM directly: “Arvind Kejriwal has been unusually quiet lately and staying away from the media. The people of Delhi want him to come forward and explain—what was so wrong with his bungalow that required Rs 31 lakh to be spent every month just on its upkeep?”
BJP leaders Dr Anil Gupta and Shubhendu Shekhar Awasthi were also present at the press conference.
