BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab of using the electoral revision exercise for “political vendetta” after his name was missing from the state’s
draft electoral rolls.
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 how his name was 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,” he said.
Chadha said the error can still be rectified since the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process allows voters to raise claims and objections before the final 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,” the MP added.
‘Who Marked Me As Shifted?’: Raghav Chadha Targets AAP
However, he alleged that the classification was deliberate rather than an administrative error.
“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 said.
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.
Thankfully,… pic.twitter.com/laAFAAWYiQ
— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) September 3, 2026
Chadha further alleged that officials involved in the revision process could be vulnerable to political pressure because their postings and transfers are controlled by the state government.
“From the BLO on the ground to the Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab, every operational level of this exercise is staffed by Punjab Government officials. The BLO is ordinarily a junior Punjab Government employee. The AEROs, EROs and DEOs in between are Punjab government officials. At the top is a Punjab-cadre IAS officer serving as the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab,” the MP added.
“These officers know AAP Government controls their transfers, postings and careers once their electoral duty ends. They know who can transfer them and who can make their lives difficult. This is how the AAP government applies political pressure through state officers to execute the political revenge,” he further said.
The BJP leader also linked the development to his exit from AAP, alleging that the party had targeted leaders who left its ranks.
“Ever since I left the corrupt Aam Aadmi Party, its leadership has been burning with anger. It has unleashed the Punjab Police and the Punjab Government’s administrative machinery against those of us who refused to remain silent. Other MPs who left AAP and joined the BJP have also been targeted by Punjab Govt. This wrongful classification is only the latest act in that political vendetta,” he said.
‘Punjab’s Draft Electoral Rolls Not AAP’s Private Property’
Chadha also cited the Election Commission’s SIR guidelines, arguing that elected representatives fall under a category for which names identified during the exercise are to be retained in the draft rolls.
“More importantly, Paragraph 4(d) of the ECI’s Detailed Guidelines for SIR, create a ‘protected list’ for public representatives whose names are identified. This includes Judges, MPs and MLAs,” he said.
Arguing that the provision should have protected his entry, Chadha said, “I am a sitting Member of Parliament from Punjab. If at all my name was flagged, Paragraph 4(d) required my inclusion in the draft electoral rolls. The instruction was not overlooked. It was wilfully violated in my case.”
He concluded his post by asserting that the electoral rolls could not be treated as the property of the ruling party.
“AAP may run the Punjab Government, but Punjab’s Draft Electoral Rolls are not its private property,” Chadha said.
AAP Reacts On Chadha’s Allegations
The AAP hit back at Raghav Chadha’s allegations, claiming that the BJP leader was trying to shift the blame to the party and the Punjab government after his name went missing from the draft electoral rolls.
The party said, “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.”
It also stressed that “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.”
The party further claimed that Chadha had been residing in Delhi and questioned his decision to hold the AAP 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 AAP also alleged that Chadha was attempting to get his voter registration restored in Delhi through a backdated process, saying, “If any such backdated or unlawful exercise has taken place, it must be investigated and the entire truth brought before the public.”
How Raghav Chadha’s Name Got Deleted In Draft SIR?
According to Election Commission records, Chadha’s name features in Punjab’s list of voters removed from the draft roll under the category covering absent, shifted, deceased and duplicate voters. His entry is marked “permanently shifted”.
The draft SIR rolls published in Punjab on August 13 saw around 20.66 lakh names, or 9.7% of the pre-SIR electorate, removed. Chadha is among those whose names have been excluded at the draft stage, The Indian Express reported.
The claims and objections window in Punjab is open from August 13 to September 12. The state’s final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on October 12.
Chadha had initially been registered as a voter in Delhi when he contested the 2022 Rajya Sabha election.
After becoming a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, he shifted his electoral registration to Mohali and cast his vote there during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, according to The Indian Express.
As of Wednesday, a search of the Election Commission’s Voter Services Portal using Chadha’s voter ID details reportedly returned “no result found” for both Delhi and Punjab.
