Raghav Chadha Hits Back at AAP, Says He Followed All ECI Procedures in Voter Roll Row
The BJP Rajya Sabha MP rejected allegations over his electoral roll entry, while AAP questioned how his name was added after the draft roll showed 746 voters.
NEW DELHI: BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday hit back at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over allegations surrounding his voter registration, dismissing the claims as baseless and asserting that he had followed all applicable Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines and procedures.
In a statement, Chadha accused AAP and its leadership of repeatedly targeting him since his departure from the party.
“I seem to be haunting Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party. Day and night, all they think about is Raghav Chadha and how to attack him,” he said.
Responding to the allegations concerning his voter registration, Chadha said the facts were straightforward and maintained that he had complied with the prescribed electoral procedures.
“The facts are simple. I have followed all applicable ECI guidelines and procedures and availed the prescribed remedies,” he said.
Chadha also accused AAP of confusing electoral rolls with its party membership register, alleging that the party was targeting individuals who had left its ranks.
“AAP has confused ‘electoral rolls’ with its ‘party membership register.’ It wants to cut out everyone who walks away from Kejriwal and his corrupt AAP,” he alleged.
He further claimed that AAP had undertaken a dedicated campaign against him following his exit from the party.
The controversy erupted after AAP questioned the inclusion of Chadha’s name in the electoral roll of Assembly Constituency 39 (Rajinder Nagar).
The Office of Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Tuesday clarified the procedure for inclusion, deletion and modification of names in electoral rolls. It said names are added, deleted or modified through Forms 6, 7 and 8, respectively.
According to the CEO, such applications are processed by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and instructions issued by the Election Commission of India.
AAP, however, rejected the clarification and continued to question how Chadha’s name appeared in the electoral roll.
AAP National Media In-charge Anurag Dhanda said the Election Commission’s response had exposed what he described as the “backdoor manner” in which Chadha’s entry was made.
Dhanda argued that the response failed to explain how Chadha’s name appeared in the electoral roll after the August 31 draft roll showed 746 voters.
He claimed that Chadha’s name subsequently appearing as the 747th entry indicated that the prescribed legal and procedural process had not been followed.
“The episode shows that even the Delhi Election Commission is unaware of how the addition took place,” Dhanda said, alleging that the lack of a specific explanation raised questions over the transparency of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
He demanded that the Election Commission clarify how Chadha’s name was added to the electoral roll and maintained that the issue raised broader concerns about the transparency and credibility of the SIR exercise.
The exchange has intensified the political dispute between Chadha and his former party, with both sides presenting contrasting claims over the procedure followed for his voter registration.
