Punjab SIR: Raghav claims name marked ‘shifted’ at AAP’s behest

Chandigarh: Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Raghav Chadha on Thursday, September 3, said that his name has been 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.

The AAP hit back, accusing Chadha of trying to get his voter registration made in Delhi through a “backdated process”, and attempting to put the entire blame on the Punjab government.

Chadha’s name has been classified as “shifted” in the draft electoral rolls prepared after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Punjab.

“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,” Chadha said in a post on X.

“This does not seem like a mere clerical mistake. This is a clear case of political vendetta,” he alleged.

Chadha, who switched sides from the AAP to the BJP in April, said he was in the process of availing remedies provided under the SIR guidelines.

“Thankfully, these are only the draft rolls, not the final rolls. Names are corrected during the ‘claims and objections’ process, which is ongoing. The final rolls will be published in October. I am already in the process of availing the remedies provided under the SIR guidelines,” the former Delhi minister said.

He also questioned who marked him as “shifted”, who verified the classification and who processed it at a higher level, alleging that officials of the Punjab government were involved in the process.

Countering Chadha, a Punjab AAP spokesperson said the Election Commission conducts SIR, not the state government.

“Punjab government has no role in deciding whose name is included or deleted from the electoral rolls,” he said.

“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. He cannot now blame the AAP or the Punjab government for the deletion of a voter entry,” the spokesperson said.