From Punjab Deletion to Delhi Inclusion: Raghav Chadha's Electoral Roll Controversy Triggers Fresh Political Backlash

A fresh political slugfest has erupted over the inclusion of Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha in Delhi's electoral rolls, drawing sharp questions from his former party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and a blistering counter-attack from the legislator.

The controversy centres around the sudden appearance of Chadha's name among 700 new additions in the capital on September 8, just days after draft electoral rolls for Delhi were published. The development follows Chadha's earlier allegations of political vendetta regarding the deletion of his name from draft rolls in Punjab.

The AAP Challenge

Delhi State AAP President Saurabh Bharadwaj launched a frontal attack on the Election Commission of India and the process that facilitated the inclusion. Pointing to Booth Number 46 in the New Rajendra Nagar draft electoral roll, Bharadwaj noted that Chadha's name was initially missing from the 746 listed voters.

"Raghav Chadha ji himself was claiming that he is a voter from Punjab and would get his vote recast there. The Election Commission had also frozen the Draft Electoral Roll," Bharadwaj said.

Bharadwaj questioned how Raghav Chadha's name had been added to the voter list of that specific booth in Delhi during the Special Intensive Revision, demanding to know under what process the new vote was created and insisting that the Election Commission must provide answers.

The Official Position

Responding to the mounting pressure, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi, issued a detailed clarification outlining the statutory framework governing electoral roll modifications. The CEO's office emphasised that additions, deletions, and corrections are processed strictly through Form-6, Form-7, and Form-8 applications under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

According to the CEO, the draft electoral roll for Delhi was published on August 31, following enumeration forms collected during the Special Intensive Revision period from June 30 to August 17.

While electoral rolls remained frozen for revision preparation between June 16 and August 31, authorities received roughly 2.14 lakh Form-6 applications. During the ongoing claims and objections window running through September 30, an additional 25,011 applications were filed, with around 700 approvals cleared by September 8,. All approved additions are scheduled for formal publication in the supplementary electoral roll on November 4.

The 'Dumped Lover' Retaliation

Refusing to retreat, Chadha replaunched a scathing riposte against the AAP leadership, accusing them of obsessive targeting. Comparing the party's relentless attacks to the behaviour of a bitter ex-partner, the Rajya Sabha MP defended his compliance with statutory regulations.

Chadha stated in a pointed remark that he seemed to be haunting Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP, noting that day and night, all they thought about was him and how to attack him, and that they were behaving like a bitter ex who had just been dumped.

While sidestepping specifics on the timeline of his Delhi voter roll inclusion, Chadha insisted he followed all applicable Election Commission guidelines and legal remedies. He added that the AAP had confused electoral rolls with its party membership register and wanted to cut out everyone who walked away from Kejriwal and his corrupt party.