Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has rejected claims that Raghav Chadha, a Rajya Sabha member from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was added to the electoral roll without proper procedures. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had alleged that his inclusion in the electoral roll violated established rules, prompting the CEO’s response to clarify the situation.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday said Chadha claimed he was a voter in Punjab and would get his vote registered there again when the Election Commission of India (ECI) froze the electoral roll. He referred to the Delhi draft electoral roll and asked how Chadha’s name featured in it while the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Punjab and Delhi coincided. The statement added that any elector can submit these forms at any time of the year. It reiterated a firm commitment to a “transparent and inclusive revision process. He added that these officers know the 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. Chadha had alleged that the Punjab government’s police and administrative machinery similarly targeted other former AAP lawmakers who switched to the BJP. “It has unleashed the Punjab Police and the Punjab Government’s administrative machinery against those of us who refused to remain silent. The AAP denied Chadha’s allegations, saying the ECI, and not the state government, is conducting the SIR.
Chadha, among seven of the 10 AAP members of the upper House who defected to the BJP in April, has been a voter in Mohali. Delhi CEO Ashok Kumar issued a statement, maintaining that electors are added, deleted, or modified only through Form 6, 7, and 8, which are processed as per the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
The allegation came days after Chadha accused Punjab’s AAP government of a “political vendetta” after his name was marked under the “shifted” category in the state’s draft electoral roll. Last week, Chadha alleged that Punjab government officials, including the booth-level officer (BLO), assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) and the chief electoral officer (CEO), carried out his “shifted” classification. This is how the AAP government applies political pressure through state officers to execute the political revenge,” he said. He added that since he left the “corrupt” AAP, its leadership has been burning with anger.
