Will Raghav Chadha Lose Rajya Sabha Membership If His Name Is Not Included In Punjab SIR Final List? What Rules Say

A political controversy has broken out in Punjab after Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha's name was allegedly marked as "shifted" in the state's draft electoral roll under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Chadha has accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of political vendetta, while the party has denied any role in the voter list exercise.

Raghav Chadha Alleges 'Political Vendetta'

Chadha, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab in 2022 and joined the BJP earlier this year, said his voter registration is in Mohali and questioned why his name was classified as shifted.

ALSO READ: Raghav Chadha Marked 'Shifted' In Punjab Voter Roll; BJP MP Alleges Vendetta, AAP Hits Back

In a post on X, Chadha said, "This does not seem like a mere clerical mistake. This is a clear case of political vendetta."

The AAP government in Punjab has now taken its politics of revenge to the Draft Electoral Rolls.

I am a sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, with my voter ID registered in Mohali, Punjab. Yet my name has been classified as “shifted” in the draft electoral rolls.

Thankfully,… pic.twitter.com/laAFAAWYiQ

— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) September 3, 2026

He stressed that the current list is only a draft and that he is already availing remedies under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) guidelines during the ongoing claims-and-objections process.

Chadha also alleged that officials involved in the exercise, from Booth Level Officers to the Chief Electoral Officer, are Punjab government officers and claimed political pressure was used against him.

“From the BLO on the ground to the Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab, every operational level of this exercise is staffed by Punjab Government officials. The BLO is ordinarily a junior Punjab Government employee. The AEROs, EROs and DEOs in between are Punjab Government officials. At the top is a Punjab-cadre IAS officer serving as the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab,” he said.

Citing Paragraph 4(d) of the ECI's SIR guidelines, Chadha argued that sitting MPs fall under a protected category and should have been included in the draft electoral roll even if their names were flagged for verification.

“I am a sitting Member of Parliament from Punjab. If at all my name was flagged, Paragraph 4(d) required my inclusion in the draft electoral rolls. The instruction was not overlooked. It was wilfully violated in my case. AAP may run the Punjab Government, but Punjab’s Draft Electoral Rolls are not its private property,” Chadha said.

AAP Hits Back

AAP dismissed Chadha's allegations and accused him of trying to obtain voter registration in Rajinder Nagar, Delhi through a backdated process.

"Raghav Chadha has been caught by a National Daily English Newspaper trying to get his voter registration made in Delhi through a backdated process, and is now attempting to put the entire blame on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Punjab government."

Raghav Chadha has been caught by a National Daily English Newspaper, trying to get his voter registration made in Delhi through a backdated process, and is now attempting to put the entire blame on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Punjab government.

SIR is conducted by the Election… https://t.co/RDXkoGkGeI

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) September 3, 2026

Clarifying the role of the state government in the voter list revision, AAP said, "SIR is conducted by the Election Commission, not the state government, so the Punjab Government has no role in deciding whose name is included or deleted from the electoral roll. It is a matter of public record that Raghav Chadha has been living in Delhi and not in Punjab. If he no longer resides in Punjab, maintaining or shifting his voter registration was his own responsibility. He cannot now blame the AAP or the Punjab Government for the deletion of a voter entry.”

Can Chadha Lose His Rajya Sabha Membership?

Under Section 3 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a Rajya Sabha member only needs to be an elector in any parliamentary constituency in India, not necessarily in the state from which they were elected.

Chadha will only lose his membership if he is found to have no valid voter registration anywhere in India after the ECI completes the verification process, be it in Punjab or Delhi.

ALSO READ: Raghav Chadha Meets PM Modi In Delhi First Time Since Joining BJP, Calls Interaction ‘Detailed And Enriching’

Currently, Chadha's name is reportedly missing from a draft electoral roll, not the final one. The ECI has allowed voters to file claims and objections before the final electoral roll is published in October 2026.

The Rajya Sabha MP, in his X post, highlighted, “I am already in the process of availing the remedies provided under SIR guidelines.”

However, if Chadha fails to have a valid voter registration in any parliamentary constituency in India, his Rajya Sabha seat would not be vacated automatically; it would require a separate legal determination through the constitutional disqualification process.

Under Article 101(3) of the Constitution, a parliamentary seat becomes vacant only if a member incurs a disqualification under Article 102. Therefore, a change in electoral-roll status alone does not automatically cancel an MP's membership; any vacancy must follow the constitutional disqualification process.