'AAP govt controls officers' transfers, postings': Raghav Chadha after his name gets deleted in Punjab draft electoral rolls

Punjab elections latest: AAP-turned-BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has accused the Punjab government of political vendetta after his name was marked as “shifted” in the state’s draft electoral rolls, despite his voter ID being registered in Mohali. Chadha's name appears in the ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Deceased and Duplicate) List published on August 13 and the reason recorded against his entry was "permanently shifted".

Chadha alleges AAP hand behind name deletion

In a social media post, Chadha said the development did not appear to be a clerical error and alleged that officials working under the AAP-led Punjab government were involved at multiple stages of the process.

"These officers know AAP Government controls their transfers, postings and careers once their electoral duty ends. They know who can transfer them and who can make their lives difficult. This is how the AAP government applies political pressure through state officers to execute the political revenge," he wrote.

MUST READ | Punjab's debt was ₹15,250 crore in 1996. Now it's ₹4.47 lakh crore: Manish Tewari sounds alarm

The AAP-turned-BJP Rajya Sabha MP alleged that the party's leadership has been "burning with anger" ever since he left the Arvind Kejriwal-led political party in April this year. "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."

Punjab electoral rolls in draft process

Chadha, however, noted that the electoral rolls are currently in draft form and that voters can seek corrections through the ongoing ‘Claims and Objections’ process. The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published in October 2026. He said he was already availing the remedies available under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) guidelines.

The Rajya Sabha MP also cited Paragraph 4(d) of the Election Commission’s detailed SIR guidelines, which provides for a “protected list” covering public representatives, including MPs and MLAs. The provision states that names of members of the judiciary, public representatives and other specified personalities flagged in the electoral database are to be included in the draft rolls to facilitate document submission during the claims and objections period.

Chadha alleged that this provision was “wilfully violated” in his case. “AAP may run the Punjab Government, but Punjab’s Draft Electoral Rolls are not its private property,” he said.

DON'T MISS | ‘My role is no more to ask questions…’: Raghav Chadha explains silence on NEET paper leak, supports students

Read Raghav Chadha's full post here

What does 'permanently shifted' mean in SIR? 

An entry marked as "permanently shifted" in SIR implies that the Booth Level Officer (BLO) or election authorities have determined that the voter has permanently relocated from their registered address and is no longer a resident of that constituency.

Officials typically confirm this through house-to-house inquiries or neighbors that the person no longer resides there. Thus, the voter's name is placed on the ASDD list and is deleted or omitted from the draft electoral roll.