Delhi CEO Denies Allegations of Illegal Voter Entry for Raghav Chadha

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi has denied claims that Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha's name was added to the Delhi electoral roll without following due process. The denial follows allegations from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that Chadha illegally registered as a voter in Delhi's Rajinder Nagar assembly constituency through a backdated or backdoor entry. The controversy emerged after Chadha, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in April, claimed his name had been marked as shifted in Punjab's draft electoral roll as a result of political vendetta by the AAP government.

AAP leaders questioned how Chadha's name appeared in the Delhi draft roll while the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Punjab and Delhi coincided. One AAP representative noted that Chadha's name appeared as the 747th entry in a list that originally contained 746 names. In response, Chadha stated that he followed all applicable guidelines and procedures, describing the allegations as frivolous and claiming the AAP is targeting him for leaving the party.

The Delhi CEO's office stated that electors are added, deleted, or modified only through Forms 6, 7, and 8 in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The office noted that while the draft roll was published on August 31, thousands of new registration applications have been processed since then. Chadha has further alleged that Punjab government officials used their administrative machinery to target him and other former AAP lawmakers who switched to the BJP.