BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab of “political vendetta” after his name was found missing from the state’s draft electoral rolls prepared as part of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Chadha, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab as an AAP nominee in 2022 before joining the BJP earlier this year, said his voter registration is in Mohali and questioned why his name had been classified as “shifted” in the draft rolls.
“The AAP government in Punjab has now taken its politics of revenge to the Draft Electoral Rolls. I am a sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, with my voter ID registered in Mohali, Punjab. Yet my name has been classified as ‘shifted’ in the draft electoral rolls,” Chadha said.
He said the error could still be rectified during the claims and objections process before the final electoral rolls are published.
“Thankfully, these are only the Draft Electoral Rolls, not the Final Electoral Rolls. Names are corrected during the ‘Claims and Objections’ process, which is ongoing. The Final Electoral Rolls will be published in October 2026. I am already in process of availing the remedies provided under SIR guidelines,” he said.
However, Chadha alleged that the deletion was not a clerical error but a deliberate act of political vendetta.
“This does not seem like a mere clerical mistake. This is a clear case of political vendetta. Who marked me as ‘shifted’? An official of AAP’s Punjab Government. Who verified that classification?
Again, an officer of AAP’s Punjab Government. Who processed it at higher level? Once again, the same AAP’s Punjab Government official,” he alleged.
Chadha also claimed that officials involved in the revision process could be susceptible to political pressure as their postings and transfers are controlled by the state government.
However, AAP rejected the allegations and said Chadha was attempting to shift the blame to the party and the Punjab government after his name went missing from the draft rolls.
“Raghav Chadha has been caught by a National Daily English Newspaper, trying to get his voter registration made in Delhi through a backdated process, and is now attempting to put the entire blame on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Punjab government,” the party said.
The AAP also maintained that the SIR is conducted by the Election Commission and that the Punjab government has no role in deciding whose name is included in or deleted from the electoral rolls.
“SIR is conducted by the Election Commission, not the state government, so the Punjab Government has no role in deciding whose name is included or deleted from the electoral roll,” it said.
The party further claimed that Chadha had been residing in Delhi and questioned his decision to hold the Punjab government responsible for the deletion.
“It is a matter of public record that Raghav Chadha has been living in Delhi and not in Punjab. If he no longer resides in Punjab, maintaining or shifting his voter registration was his own responsibility. He cannot now blame the AAP or the Punjab Government for the deletion of a voter entry,” the party said.
The AAP also alleged that Chadha was attempting to restore his voter registration in Delhi through a backdated process and called for an investigation if any such process had taken place.
The controversy comes amid the ongoing SIR exercise in Punjab. Voters whose names have been excluded from the draft rolls can file claims and objections during the prescribed window. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 12.
