English
English
English
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha whose name was added to Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar electoral roll after a political controversy (Img: X)
New Delhi: The Election Commission has explained how BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha’s name was added to Delhi’s electoral roll, days after his name was removed from the Punjab draft voter list.
The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said Chadha applied for inclusion of his name in the voter list of Rajinder Nagar assembly constituency through Form 6 on August 26. The application was approved on September 2 after completing the required verification process.
The development had triggered a political controversy, with the Aam Aadmi Party questioning how Chadha’s name appeared in Delhi’s voter database when the draft electoral roll had already been published.
The controversy began after Chadha’s name did not appear in the draft electoral roll of Punjab published on August 13. Election records showed his previous entry was marked as “permanently shifted”.
Chadha had accused the Punjab government of political revenge over the deletion of his name.
Meanwhile, during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, Delhi’s electoral roll process was frozen between June 16 and August 31. The draft voter list released on August 31 also did not contain Chadha’s name.
His subsequent inclusion raised questions over the timing of the entry.
The Delhi CEO’s office clarified that once a Form 6 application is approved, the voter’s details start appearing in the Election Commission’s online database immediately.
According to the poll body, names added during the revision process are assigned serial numbers after the last entry in the draft roll.
Chadha’s name appeared at serial number 747 under booth number 46 in Rajinder Nagar, while the earlier draft list ended at serial number 746.
The election office said the inclusion followed the prescribed procedure and mandatory notice period.
The AAP has rejected the Election Commission’s explanation and alleged that Chadha’s name was added due to political pressure.
AAP leader Anurag Dhanda demanded that Chadha’s Form 6 application and related documents should be made public.
The issue has intensified political exchanges between the AAP and BJP ahead of upcoming elections, with the final Delhi voter list scheduled to be published on November 4.
