A political controversy has erupted in Punjab after BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha’s name was removed from the state’s draft electoral rolls prepared under the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Chadha’s entry has been listed in the ASDD category — Absent, Shifted, Deceased and Duplicate — with the reason recorded as “permanently shifted.” His name appeared in the ASDD list published on August 13.
Editorial Insight
Key Highlights
Important points readers should notice.
The controversy goes beyond one politician because electoral-roll accuracy directly affects citizens’ voting rights. Since the list is still in the draft stage, the classification can be challenged through the prescribed claims-and-objections process. Politically, the episode is also significant because Chadha’s move from AAP to BJP has already created friction with his former party, making the voter-roll dispute part of a wider political confrontation.
Location: Punjab, with Chadha’s voter registration linked to Mohali.
Location: Punjab, with Chadha’s voter registration linked to Mohali.
Action Taken: Chadha has challenged the “permanently shifted” classification and raised questions over the treatment of his name in the draft roll.
Impact: The episode puts the spotlight on the accuracy of electoral-roll revisions while adding another layer to the political fallout following Chadha’s move from AAP to BJP.
Chadha has questioned the classification, saying that his voter ID remains registered in Mohali, Punjab. He has alleged that the development is not a routine clerical issue but an act of political vendetta following his departure from the Aam Aadmi Party and his subsequent move to the BJP.
The controversy comes months after Chadha left the AAP and joined the BJP along with six other Rajya Sabha MPs in April 2026. He had been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab as an AAP nominee in 2022.
Chadha has also referred to provisions in the SIR guidelines concerning public representatives. He said that the draft nature of the electoral roll means there is an opportunity to challenge the classification and seek correction through the prescribed process.
Editorial Analysis
Why This Matters
The controversy goes beyond one politician because electoral-roll accuracy directly affects citizens’ voting rights. Since the list is still in the draft stage, the classification can be challenged through the prescribed claims-and-objections process. Politically, the episode is also significant because Chadha’s move from AAP to BJP has already created friction with his former party, making the voter-roll dispute part of a wider political confrontation.
The AAP has rejected Chadha’s political-vendetta allegation. The party and a senior Punjab government official have maintained that the electoral-roll revision is being conducted by the Election Commission and that the state government has no role in deciding whose name is deleted from the electoral rolls.
The issue has gained additional political significance because Chadha is a sitting Rajya Sabha MP representing Punjab and his departure from the AAP has already intensified tensions between him and his former party.
The wider SIR exercise has also resulted in a substantial number of names being removed from draft electoral rolls across the country. In Punjab alone, around 20.66 lakh voters were deleted from the draft rolls, according to reports.
The controversy, however, does not automatically affect Chadha’s position as a Rajya Sabha MP. The requirement that a Rajya Sabha candidate must be registered as a voter in the state they represent was removed in 2003 through an amendment to the Representation of the People Act.
