How did Raghav Chadha become Delhi voter: EC explains Rajya Sabha MP's curious case
PTC News Desk: The Election Commission has clarified how BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha’s name appeared on Delhi’s electoral rolls, days after his name was missing from the Punjab draft voter list.
The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer’s office said Chadha submitted Form 6 on August 26 to register as a voter in the Rajinder Nagar constituency. His application was approved on September 2 after following the required procedure.
The development had raised questions because Delhi’s draft electoral rolls had already been published on August 31, while the final voter list is scheduled to be released on November 4.
AAP questions Raghav Chadha's addition
The AAP has strongly criticised the Election Commission, alleging that Chadha’s name was added to Delhi’s voter list through the “backdoor” after it was removed from the Punjab draft electoral roll during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
As part of the SIR process, Delhi’s electoral roll was frozen between June 16 and August 31. The draft voter list published on August 31 did not include Chadha’s name.
His name was also missing from Punjab’s draft electoral roll published on August 13. Election Commission records showed the entry against his name as “permanently shifted.”
Chadha had accused the Punjab government of indulging in “politics of revenge” following the removal of his name from the draft list.
Chadha applied through form 6
According to the Delhi CEO’s office, Chadha applied for inclusion in the Rajinder Nagar voter list on August 26 using Form 6, which is meant for voter registration.
The poll body said his application was approved by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) after the mandatory seven-day notice period was completed.
ECI records now show Chadha’s name at serial number 747, booth number 46 in the Rajinder Nagar constituency. However, the draft electoral roll published on August 31 showed the last entry at serial number 746, meaning Chadha’s name was not included in that published draft.
The Delhi election authorities explained that once a Form 6 application is approved, the voter’s name is updated in the online electoral database immediately.
The poll body also referred to the ECI’s SIR guidelines, which state that names added during the revision process are assigned serial numbers after the last entry in the draft electoral roll.
This explains why Chadha’s name is now visible in the ECI’s online database but was not included in the draft electoral roll published on August 31.
- With inputs from agencies
