Daijiworld Media Network – Chandigarh
Chandigarh, Sep 3: Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha’s name has been deleted from Punjab’s draft electoral rolls prepared as part of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with his entry listed as ‘permanently shifted’.
Chadha, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab on an AAP ticket in 2022 and joined the BJP earlier this year, has alleged that the deletion was politically motivated.
His name appears in the ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Deceased and Duplicate) list published on August 13, with ‘permanently shifted’ recorded as the reason for his removal. Overall, around 20.66 lakh voters, or nearly 9.7% of Punjab’s pre-SIR electorate, have been excluded from the draft rolls.
Reacting to the development, Chadha said his voter ID is registered in Mohali and questioned the decision to classify him as permanently shifted. He noted that the electoral rolls are still in the draft stage and said he was already pursuing the remedies available under the SIR guidelines.
“This does not seem like a mere clerical mistake. This is a clear case of political vendetta,” Chadha alleged in a social media post.
He accused the Punjab Government and its administrative machinery of targeting those who had left the AAP and joined the BJP. Chadha claimed that other Rajya Sabha MPs who switched parties had also faced similar action.
Chadha quit the AAP in April and joined the BJP along with six other Rajya Sabha MPs. Explaining his decision, he had alleged that the AAP had deviated from its principles and values. The AAP, however, criticised his move and accused him of being opportunistic.
The MP also alleged that provisions in the SIR guidelines providing a ‘protected list’ for public representatives, including MPs and MLAs, had been violated in his case.
Meanwhile, the deletion of Chadha’s name from the Punjab electoral rolls does not by itself affect his position as a Rajya Sabha MP from the state. The requirement for a Rajya Sabha candidate to be registered as a voter in the state they represent was removed through an amendment to the Representation of the People Act in 2003.