Raghav Chadha’s name marked ‘shifted’ in Punjab SIR rolls; alleges AAP’s politics of revenge

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha on Thursday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government of deliberately marking his voter identification record in Mohali as “permanently shifted” in the draft electoral rolls prepared under the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging that the action violated guidelines meant to safeguard the names of public representatives.

Chadha, who was elected as an AAP Rajya Sabha member from Punjab in 2022, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in April this year along with six other AAP MPs, invoking the anti-defection merger provision.

Taking to X, Chadha 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.”

The BJP leader, however, pointed out that the rolls currently under discussion were only draft electoral rolls and not the final version, adding that corrections could still be made during the ongoing Claims and Objections process.

“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 the process of availing the remedies provided under SIR guidelines,” he said.

The Rajya Sabha member claimed that the classification did not appear to be a “mere clerical mistake”, describing it instead as 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,” Chadha alleged.

He further claimed that officials at different operational levels of the electoral revision process, from the Booth Level Officer (BLO) to the Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab, are Punjab government officials.

Chadha said the BLO is ordinarily a junior Punjab government employee, while the Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and District Election Officers (DEOs) involved in the process are also state government officials. He added that the Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab is a Punjab-cadre IAS officer.

“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 alleged.

Chadha also said that the alleged action against his electoral record was part of a larger pattern of retaliation against leaders who had left the AAP.

The Rajya Sabha member claimed that since he left the “corrupt Aam Aadmi Party”, its leadership had been “burning with anger”, and alleged that the Punjab Police and the administrative machinery of the state government had been used against those who had chosen to leave the party.

“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,” Chadha said.

Chadha also referred to Paragraph 4(d) of the Election Commission of India’s Detailed Guidelines for SIR, which, he said, provides for a “protected list” of public representatives whose names have been identified or flagged during the electoral revision process.

The provision states, “All names of member of judiciary, public representatives, holders of declared offices and personalities from fields of arts, culture, journalism, sports, and public services etc. earlier flagged in the electoral database, are to be included in the Draft Electoral Rolls, so that necessary documents can also be collected during the period of Claims and Objections.”

Chadha argued that as a sitting Member of Parliament from Punjab, his name should have remained included in the draft electoral rolls even if it had been flagged for any reason.

“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 said.

“AAP may run the Punjab Government, but Punjab’s Draft Electoral Rolls are not its private property,” he added.

IANS