Delhi poll body defends Raghav Chadha’s addition to voter roll

The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer has defended the addition of BJP MP Raghav Chadha’s name to the electoral roll in Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar constituency, saying the application was submitted and processed through the required procedure. The Aam Aadmi Party has challenged the explanation and demanded that Chadha’s application be made public.

Chadha applied for inclusion in the Rajinder Nagar electoral roll on August 26 by submitting Form 6, according to the Delhi poll body. Officials said the application was approved on September 2, after the mandatory seven-day notice period had been completed.

The poll body also said Chadha’s name had previously been removed from the electoral rolls in Punjab. The explanation comes amid questions from the AAP over how and when his name was added to the Delhi roll.

Poll body explains addition to Rajinder Nagar roll

According to officials, the application was handled as part of the required process for adding a name to the electoral roll. They said the notice period was completed before the application was approved, and maintained that the inclusion did not bypass the prescribed procedure.

The Delhi poll body also addressed the numbering of names added during the SIR exercise. It said such additions receive serial numbers after the last entry in the draft roll. The clarification appears to concern the placement of newly added names in the electoral register.

The available details do not indicate that the poll body has released Chadha’s Form 6 publicly. The AAP has specifically sought disclosure of the document, making it a central point in the dispute over the addition.

AAP challenges explanation

AAP media chief Anurag Dhanda alleged that Chadha’s inclusion took place “through the back door” and demanded that the application be made public. The party’s challenge contrasts with the poll body’s position that the application was filed on August 26 and approved on September 2 after the notice requirement was met.

The disagreement is therefore focused on both the transparency of the process and the documentation supporting the addition. While the poll body has described the procedural steps, the AAP is seeking access to the Form 6 submitted by Chadha.

Chadha’s name was added to the Rajinder Nagar electoral roll after officials said his name had been removed from Punjab’s rolls. The sequence described by the poll body links the Delhi application to that earlier change in his electoral-roll status, though the supplied information does not provide further details about the Punjab removal.

For now, the poll body’s explanation and the AAP’s demand for disclosure remain the two competing positions in the matter. The next publicly identified step is the request for Chadha’s Form 6 to be made available, while the poll body continues to maintain that the addition followed the required procedure.