Kejriwal: 'Modi Govt Is Forcing E20 on People'

Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal took the E20 debate further than most politicians have so far. In a video published by The Hindu in early August 2026, he accused the Modi government of "forcing E20 on people", arguing that ethanol-blended fuel was being made the default without drivers getting a real say in the matter. The clip has been watched over 160,000 times in its first day online.

Whatever side of that argument you land on, the underlying complaint is one we've heard from plenty of ordinary drivers too, not just from politicians: E20 became the default at almost every pump in the country, and pure petrol quietly moved into a premium category most people don't know to look for.

What's actually true here, separate from the politics

Strip away the political framing and the factual part of the claim holds up: E20 is the standard fuel at nearly every pump in India as of April 2026. Ethanol-free petrol hasn't disappeared, but it isn't the default either, it's a paid-for premium option sold under brand names like XP100, Speed 100 and Power 100 depending on the oil company. We covered the government's own side of this in our post on Gadkari's comments confirming pure petrol still exists, just at a higher price.

So regardless of whether you agree E20 is being "forced" on anyone, the practical situation for a driver is the same one this whole blog exists to solve: if your engine needs ethanol-free fuel, you have to go looking for it specifically, because it's no longer what comes out of the pump by default.

Why this keeps becoming a political flashpoint

Ethanol blending has been a slow-moving policy for years, but it only turns into a headline moment when the rollout actually reaches people's daily routine, at the pump, in their own car. That's what's happening now that E20 coverage is close to universal. Expect more statements like this one from other politicians as more owners of older vehicles notice the switch and start asking questions.

None of that changes what you can actually do about it today, though. If your vehicle's manufacturer recommends against E20, or you just don't want to run it, ethanol-free fuel is still legally sold, you just need to know which nearby pump has it in stock.

Finding it is still the real problem

That's the part no political statement, ours included, solves on its own. XP100, Speed 100 and Power 100 aren't stocked at every outlet under each brand, and there's no single official locator that covers all three oil companies at once. We built E0 Finder to close that gap, one map, pulling in publicly listed ethanol-free stations from IOCL, BPCL and HPCL, so you're not checking three different websites to answer one question. Share your location, or search manually, and see what's actually near you.