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Raghav Chadha claims name ‘shifted’ in Punjab draft electoral rolls, AAP denies hand
The AAP government distanced itself from the deletion, saying the SIR is conducted by the Election Commission (EC) and that the state government has “no role”.
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BJP MP Raghav Chadha on Thursday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government of political vendetta after alleging that his name had been deleted from the state’s draft electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.
The former AAP deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, who joined the BJP a few months ago, said his name had been marked as “shifted” despite being a sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab with his voter ID registered in Mohali.
The AAP government, however, distanced itself from the deletion, saying the SIR is conducted by the Election Commission (EC) and that the state government has “no role” in deciding whose name is included or removed from the electoral rolls.
The allegations came after reports surfaced that Chadha’s name appeared in the list of voters deleted from the Punjab draft electoral roll published on August 13. The Indian Express reported that the list, known as the ASDD (absent, shifted, deceased and duplicate) list, had Chadha’s name under the “permanently shifted” category.
Chadha's ‘political vendetta’ charge
In a lengthy post on X, Chadha alleged that the Punjab government had taken its “politics of revenge” to the electoral 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.
However, Chadha stressed that the list is still a draft and that voters can challenge such deletions during the claims and objections process.
“I am already in process of availing the remedies provided under SIR guidelines,” he said.
But he rejected the possibility that his name was removed because of a clerical error. “This is a clear case of political vendetta,” Chadha alleged.
He questioned how his name was marked as shifted and who approved the classification.
“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.”
Chadha further argued that the entire electoral revision machinery in the state involves government officials, from booth-level officers to the chief electoral officer.
He added that the officials “know AAP Government controls their transfers, postings and careers once their electoral duty ends.”
Chadha smells 'revenge'
“This is how the AAP government applies political pressure through state officers to execute the political revenge,” he alleged.
“AAP may run the Punjab Government, but Punjab’s Draft Electoral Rolls are not its private property,” Chadha added.
The BJP leader also linked the deletion to what he described as retaliation against former AAP leaders who switched parties.
“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,” Chadha said.
“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 added.
AAP says EC conducts SIR
AAP rejected Chadha’s allegations and said the Punjab government had no role in determining the electoral roll entries.
In a statement, AAP said that Chadha had been “caught by a National Daily English Newspaper” allegedly trying to get his voter registration made in Delhi through a backdated process, and was now attempting to shift the blame to the AAP and the Punjab government.
“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 spokesperson said.
The party also claimed that Chadha had been living in Delhi rather than Punjab and argued that maintaining or shifting his voter registration was his responsibility.
"He cannot now blame the AAP or the Punjab Government for the deletion of a voter entry,” the spokesperson said.
AAP further alleged that it had received information from Election Commission sources that Chadha was attempting to register as a voter in Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar through a backdated process.
“At the same time, the AAP has received information from Election Commission sources that Raghav Chadha is trying to get his voter registration made in Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, through a backdated process,” the spokesperson said.
“If any such backdated or unlawful exercise has taken place, it must be investigated and the entire truth brought before the public,” the party said, adding that it would pursue the matter if the BJP or anyone else had facilitated such an entry.
(With inputs from Ravinder Vasudeva)
