The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its former Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, who has since joined the BJP, are embroiled in a dispute over the deletion of his name from the electoral roll in Punjab. This follows the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s voter list, first reported by The Indian Express on Thursday.
Accusations of Political Vendetta
Chadha has accused the AAP-led Punjab government of engaging in "politics of revenge." He claims that despite being a sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab with his voter ID registered in Mohali, his name has been marked as "shifted" in the draft electoral rolls.
In response, AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, "Chadha lives in Delhi, not Punjab," questioning why he should have a vote in Punjab. He invoked SIR rules, which allow for a voter’s name to be deleted if they are not found residing at their registered address. Bharadwaj noted that similar rules were applied in Delhi, resulting in the classification of lakhs of voters as "shifted" and the deletion of their votes simply for changing residences.
Chadha's Defense
Chadha took to X to reiterate his stance, stating, "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 the process of availing the remedies provided under SIR guidelines. This does not seem like a mere clerical mistake. This is a clear case of political vendetta."
