AAP, BJP trade barbs over Raghav Chadha's name being struck off Punjab rolls

A political confrontation has broken out between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its former Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha, who recently switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The dispute centres on the deletion of Chadha's name from the draft electoral rolls in Punjab during the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's voter list.

Chadha, whose registered voter ID is in Mohali, has accused the AAP-led Punjab government of engaging in "politics of revenge." He claims his name was marked as "shifted" in the draft rolls despite his status as a sitting Rajya Sabha MP representing the state.

AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj countered the allegations, asserting that Chadha resides in Delhi, not Punjab. Bharadwaj invoked the SIR guidelines, which permit the deletion of a voter's name if they are not found living at their registered address. He noted that similar rules were applied in Delhi to mark numerous voters as "shifted" for changing residences.

In a post on X, Chadha stated that corrections are possible during the ongoing "Claims and Objections" process, with final rolls slated for publication in October 2026. He maintained that he is already pursuing remedies under the SIR guidelines and dismissed the action as "political vendetta" rather than a clerical error.

Bharadwaj escalated the rhetoric at a press conference, questioning Chadha's moral authority to hold his parliamentary seat. He referenced Chadha's past advocacy for the "Right to Reject," suggesting the former MP should apply that principle to himself. "He no longer has any moral right to enter that temple of Parliament," Bharadwaj said, adding that the media should question Chadha's justification for occupying the seat and the government accommodation allotted to him.

Bharadwaj also alleged that Chadha was attempting to register as a voter in Delhi through a "backdated process" via the ECI, claiming that the process was halted after a newspaper sought an official response. The publication in question has denied this claim, stating that it had asked AAP for comment on Chadha's allegation and later emailed the ECI regarding the AAP's assertion, to which it received no response.