After Raghav Chadha, another Punjab MP's name missing from SIR draft roll

Congress MP from Patiala Dharamvira Gandhi's claim that his name was missing from Punjab's SIR draft electoral roll came just hours after BJP's Raghav Chadha alleged that his name had been marked "shifted" despite his voter ID being registered in Mohali.Congress MP Dharamvira Gandhi said his name was missing from the Punjab SIR draft roll.The controversy surrounding Punjab's electoral rolls has widened, with two-time Congress MP from Patiala Dharamvira Gandhi saying his name and those of his family members were missing from the draft electoral roll published under the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.The development came just hours after BJP MP Raghav Chadha said that his name was marked as "shifted" in the draft electoral rolls despite his voter ID being registered in Mohali, accusing the AAP government of using the electoral machinery for political vendetta.Gandhi confirmed that his family's names had been affected during the SIR process."I have been residing at this address since around 2000. I have contested three Lok Sabha elections and won two of them from this very house, which has been my permanent address in all official records. Despite this, my name, along with those of my family members, is missing from the electoral roll," he said. According to the details of the SIR process, the Patiala Lok Sabha MP's name was initially missing from the voter list but was subsequently added through the prescribed procedure.Gandhi said, however, that no notice was issued to him personally. He claimed that officials were aware that he was a sitting MP and that MPs fell under a category for which additional care was required before issuing notices.Notices have meanwhile been issued to his wife, son, daughter and daughter-in-law.Gandhi said the relevant data concerning the family members had not yet been mapped. Copies of the notices issued to his wife and other family members are available.Earlier on Thursday, Raghav Chadha, who switched to the BJP from AAP earlier this year, said his voter ID was registered in Mohali and questioned how his name could have been marked as shifted.Chadha also cited Paragraph 4(d) of the SIR guidelines, which he said provides for a "protected list" of public representatives, including MPs and MLAs.The AAP, however, rejected Chadha's allegations, saying the SIR exercise is conducted by the Election Commission and that the state government has no role in deciding whose names are included or deleted from electoral rolls.The party also accused its former leader of attempting to get his voter registration shifted to Delhi through a "backdated process".An Election Commission official, however, rejected the claim that there was any move to facilitate the inclusion of Chadha's name in Delhi's voter list through back-channel efforts.The electoral rolls published under the SIR exercise are currently in the draft stage. The claims and objections process provides an opportunity for voters to raise concerns over omissions or other discrepancies before the final rolls are published.- Ends(With PTI inputs)Published By: Karishma Saurabh KalitaPublished On: Sep 4, 2026 07:15 IST