Shuttler Jwala Gutta raised a storm on Friday stating that her name was missing from the voter list in Hyderabad, preventing her from casting her vote in the Telangana assembly elections.

Early on 7 December, when the state went to polls, the badminton star took to Twitter to express her surprise at not finding her name in the list even though it was there when she checked online.

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“Surprised to see my name disappear from the voting list after checking online,” Gutta tweeted.

Surprised to see my name disappear from the voting list after checking online!! #whereismyvote

— Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) December 7, 2018

Questioning the fairness of the elections, the 35-year-old Gutta said that names are “mysteriously disappearing from the list”.

“How’s the election fair when names are mysteriously disappearing from the list?” she asked in the second tweet.

How’s the election fair…when names r mysteriously disappearing from the list!! 😡🤬

— Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) December 7, 2018

Gutta later released a video stating that in her family of four, only her mother was able to vote as the names of her sister and her father were missing, too.

To all the silly questions!! pic.twitter.com/6bKDwW8Xcv

— Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) December 7, 2018

Reacting to Gutta’s tweets, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of having a hand in the disappearance of the names. He also levelled serious accusations against the Election Commission.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief claimed that the BJP removed the names of 30 lakh voters in Delhi.

“Names of 30 lakh voters have been similarly deleted by BJP in Delhi. It seems BJP is doing it all over the country in active collusion wid Election Commission,” he tweeted.

Names of 30 lakh voters have been similarly deleted by BJP in Delhi. It seems BJP is doing it all over the country in active collusion wid Election Commission. https://t.co/Xiwf4UA4Ws

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 7, 2018

Delhi deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, too, took to Twitter to allege that the Election Commission of India was being “instructed from BJP war room”.

“Badminton Champion, Arjuna awardee, 2 times Olympian @guttajwala asks – #whereismyvote Any answer Election Commission of India? A pride player has lost her voting right!” he tweeted.

“Oh ECI! You must be busy with strategies being instructed from BJP war room,” Sisodia added.

Badminton Champion, Arjuna awardee, 2 times Olympian @guttajwala asks – #whereismyvote

Any answer Election Commission of India? A pride player has lost her voting right!

Oh ECI! You must be busy with strategies being instructed from BJP war room. https://t.co/226EdH6qUk

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) December 7, 2018

In her video Gutta said that she is not raising the issue for any political objective.

“I don’t have to do this to join a political party,” she said.

Meanwhile, superstars Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna and Junior NTR and tennis ace Sania Mirza were among top celebrities who voted in the Telangana Assembly election on Friday.

The voting in Telangana is underway a three-way battle between the Congress-led alliance (consisting of TDP, TJS and CPI), the BJP and the TRS.

Originally scheduled to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections next year, the House was dissolved prematurely on 6 September as per a recommendation by the state cabinet necessitating the polls.

It is for the first time that the Election Commission is using Voters Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in Telangana. This is the first full-fledged election in the country’s youngest state.