Raghav Chadha alleges political vendetta over Punjab voter roll deletion

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab of “political vendetta” after his name was removed from the state’s draft electoral rolls. During the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, Chadha’s entry was classified as “permanently shifted” in the Absent, Shifted, Deceased, and Duplicate (ASDD) list.

Chadha, who recently joined the BJP after leaving AAP, maintains that his voter registration is in Mohali and that he voted there during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He argued that the classification violates Election Commission guidelines that provide a “protected list” for sitting MPs and MLAs. He alleged that state officials, from Booth Level Officers to senior administrators, are under political pressure from the AAP government to target opponents.

The AAP government has denied these allegations, stating that the SIR process is managed entirely by the Election Commission and not the state administration. The party further claimed that Chadha has been attempting to register as a voter in Delhi through a “backdated process.”

The controversy occurs amidst a broader revision in Punjab, where approximately 20.66 lakh voters—nearly 9.7 percent of the pre-revision electorate—have had their names removed from the draft rolls. Affected voters have until mid-September 2026 to submit claims and objections to have their names reinstated before the final rolls are published in October.