Raghav Chadha, AAP spar over his name being marked ‘shifted’ in Punjab draft rolls

BJP MP Raghav Chadha. File | Photo Credit: via Sansad TV Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Thursday (September 3, 2026) attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab for allegedly marking his name as “shifted” in the draft electoral list published as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.Hitting back, AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that Mr. Chadha might lose his Rajya Sabha seat because his “vote got deleted in SIR”.Mr. Chadha, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2022 on an AAP nomination, crossed over to the BJP in April.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.Thankfully,… pic.twitter.com/laAFAAWYiQ— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) September 3, 2026“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,” Mr. Chadha said in a post on X on Thursday.He added that “thankfully,” this was the draft Electoral Rolls, not the Final Electoral Rolls. “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,” he said.Chadha trying to get registered through ‘backdated process’: AAPThe AAP said in a statement that the SIR is conducted by the Election Commission, not the State government, so the Punjab government had no role in deciding whose name is included or deleted from the electoral roll.“It is a matter of public record that Raghav Chadha has been living in Delhi and not in Punjab. If he no longer resides in Punjab, maintaining or shifting his voter registration was his own responsibility,” the statement said.The AAP alleged that it has received information from Election Commission sources that Mr. Chadha was trying to get his voter registration made in Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, through a backdated process.“If any such backdated or unlawful exercise has taken place, it must be investigated and the entire truth brought before the public. If the BJP or anyone else has facilitated any such backdated entry, we will pursue the matter to its logical conclusion and expose the truth,” the statement said.What the rule saysUnder Election Commission rules, a person can register to vote from a particular booth if is an ordinary resident there. This means that he has been living there for a period of not less than six months.In the detailed guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a specific provision — cited as Paragraph 4(d) — requires that names of “certain categories of people”, if they were already flagged/identified in the electoral database, must be automatically carried into the Draft Electoral Roll, rather than being dropped for want of a fresh enumeration form. This effectively creates a “protected list” so their case is handled through the Claims & Objections window rather than outright omission.These are members of the judiciary (judges), public representatives (commonly understood to include sitting MPs and MLAs), holders of declared offices, personalities from the fields of Arts, Culture, Journalism, Sports, Public services (and similar categories.The provision doesn’t exempt these individuals from verification altogether — it ensures their names are included in the draft roll (rather than deleted for non-submission) so that the required supporting documents can still be collected during the Claims and Objections period.However, despite this, till now many well-known people, including ex-defence top-ranking defence personnel, have found their names missing from draft rolls. Published - September 03, 2026 12:14 pm IST