Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha’s name has been removed from Punjab’s draft electoral rolls prepared as part of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with his entry listed under the reason “permanently shifted”. Chadha, who was elected as an AAP Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab in 2022 before recently joining the BJP, has alleged that the deletion is an act of “political vendetta” by the Aam Aadmi Party, whose leadership he claimed is “burning with anger”.
Chadha’s name was included in the ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Deceased and Duplicate) list published on August 13, with “permanently shifted” recorded as the reason for his removal. He is among 20.66 lakh voters, equivalent to around 9.7 per cent of Punjab’s electorate before the SIR, whose names have been excluded from the draft rolls.
Reacting to the development, Chadha said his voter ID is registered in Mohali and questioned how he could have been categorised as “shifted”. He also pointed out that the electoral rolls are still at the draft stage and said he had already begun using 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 said in a detailed social media post. He alleged that the AAP government was using the state’s administrative machinery against those who had left the party.
“Ever since I left the corrupt Aam Aadmi Party, its leadership has been burning with anger,” he said.
Chadha said Vijay was attempting to establish a “new system” in Tamil Nadu and alleged that people facing corruption charges or worried about scrutiny were trying to create distractions by spreading such stories. He said the Congress considered it its responsibility to support Vijay’s efforts to build a corruption-free Tamil Nadu.
The 37-year-old MP left the AAP and joined the BJP in April along with six other Rajya Sabha MPs. Explaining his decision, Chadha had said the AAP had “completely deviated from its principles, values and morals”. The AAP, meanwhile, accused him of being “opportunistic” and questioned his absence from important political campaigns and protests.
Chadha further alleged that the Punjab Police and the state government’s administrative machinery had been used against him and other former AAP MPs who joined the BJP.
“Ever since I left the corrupt Aam Aadmi Party, its leadership has been burning with anger. 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,” he said.
He also alleged that a provision in the SIR guidelines that places elected representatives, including MPs and MLAs, on a “protected list” had been deliberately violated in his case. Chadha maintained that Punjab’s draft electoral rolls could not be treated as the “private property” of the ruling AAP.
The window for filing claims and objections under the SIR process will remain open until September 12, while the final electoral rolls are expected to be released in October 2026.
However, the removal of Chadha’s name from Punjab’s voter rolls does not by itself affect his eligibility to continue serving as a Rajya Sabha MP representing the state. The requirement for a Rajya Sabha candidate to be registered as a voter in the state they represent was removed in 2003 through an amendment to the Representation of the People Act.
