New Delhi, 03 September (H.S.): Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Raghav Chadha has accused the Punjab government of political vendetta after his name was reportedly removed from the state’s draft electoral roll prepared under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Chadha said he is a registered voter in Mohali, yet the draft electoral roll has categorised him as “shifted”.

Chadha said in a post on X on Thursday that only the draft electoral roll has so far been published and that corrections can be made during the “claims and objections” process. He said he is pursuing all legal remedies available under the guidelines of the Election Commission of India.

The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that the development was not a routine administrative error but an act of political retaliation. He claimed that Punjab government officials were involved at various stages, from declaring him “shifted” and verifying the status to completing the process at higher levels.

Chadha said officials of the Punjab government are deployed in the electoral process, from Booth Level Officers to District Election Officers and the Chief Electoral Officer. He further pointed out that after election duties are completed, their transfers and postings remain under the state government’s jurisdiction. According to him, this creates the possibility of political pressure being exerted on officials.

Chadha alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party leadership has been targeting him since he left the party. He further claimed that the Punjab government has also targeted other MPs who left the AAP and subsequently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Referring to Paragraph 4(D) of the Election Commission’s detailed guidelines concerning the Special Intensive Revision, Chadha said that the names of MPs, legislators, members of the judiciary and other public figures, even if identified for verification, should continue to be included in the draft electoral roll so that the necessary documents can be submitted during the claims and objections period.

Chadha said that he is a sitting Rajya Sabha member from Punjab and alleged that this provision was not followed in his case. He accused the authorities of deliberately disregarding the Election Commission’s directions and asserted that Punjab’s draft electoral roll cannot be treated as the private property of any political party.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar