The controversy over Punjab’s draft electoral rolls has grown after two-time Congress MP from Patiala, Dharamvira Gandhi, said his name and the names of his family members were missing from the draft voter list prepared during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR). His name was later added back after officials said the omission happened because of a technical issue.
During Punjab’s SIR process, Congress MP Dr. Dharamvir Gandhi’s name initially went missing from the Patiala voter list but was later added. While he received no notice, notices were reportedly issued to his wife, son, daughter and daughter-in-law, whose data remains unmapped.… pic.twitter.com/wXU0iBZy4r
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Gandhi said he has been living at the same address since around 2000 and has contested three Lok Sabha elections from the same house, winning two of them. He said the address has always been his permanent address in official records, making the removal of his name from the draft roll a serious concern.
According to the SIR records, Gandhi’s name was first left out of the electoral roll but was later restored through the required procedure. However, Gandhi said he was not personally served any notice about the removal.
Family members also affected
Gandhi said officials were aware that he was a sitting MP and that MPs are covered under a category requiring additional care before notices are issued during the SIR process.
While Gandhi himself did not receive a notice, notices were issued to his wife, son, daughter and daughter-in-law. He also said the relevant data of his family members had not yet been mapped. Copies of the notices issued to his wife and other family members are available.
The development has raised questions over how the names of a sitting MP and his family could disappear from the draft rolls despite the family having a long-standing address in Patiala.
Raghav Chadha also raises voter-list issue
Gandhi’s case came shortly after BJP MP Raghav Chadha said his name had been marked as “shifted” in Punjab’s draft electoral rolls, even though his voter ID is registered in Mohali.
Chadha, who left the AAP and joined the BJP earlier this year, accused the AAP government in Punjab of using the electoral process for political revenge. He said the marking did not look like a simple clerical error and questioned which officials had marked and verified his status.
He also referred to Paragraph 4(d) of the Election Commission’s SIR guidelines, saying MPs and MLAs fall under a “protected list”. Chadha argued that as a sitting Punjab MP, his name should have been included in the draft roll even if it had been flagged during the revision process.
Chadha further said that officials involved in the SIR exercise, including BLOs and CECs, are part of the Punjab government system and remain dependent on the state government for transfers and postings after their election duties. He said this gives the government the ability to put pressure on officials.
He also claimed that other MPs who left the AAP and joined the BJP had faced similar targeting and described his own case as another example of political vendetta.
AAP rejects Chadha’s charges
The AAP has rejected Chadha’s accusations, saying the Special Intensive Revision is an Election Commission exercise and that the Punjab government does not decide which names are added or removed from electoral rolls.
The party also accused Chadha of trying to move his voter registration to Delhi through what it described as a “backdated process”. An Election Commission official, however, rejected the claim that any back-channel effort was being made to help Chadha get his name added to Delhi’s voter list.
Final electoral roll yet to be published
The rolls released under the SIR exercise are still draft electoral rolls. Voters can submit claims and objections if their names are missing or if there are other mistakes.
With Gandhi’s name now added back and Chadha raising concerns over his own entry, the issue has brought fresh attention to how electoral names are being checked and handled by officials during Punjab’s SIR exercise.
