Punjab’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is underway across the state, with the Election Department saying the exercise is proceeding smoothly.
The department has also issued a clarification after reports claimed that the name of Patiala MP Dr Dharamvir Gandhi and those of his family members were missing from the draft electoral roll published on August 13, 2026 and according to the latest official update, the claim is incorrect and unsubstantiated.
The Election Department said that Dr Dharamvir Gandhi and his family members are included in the draft electoral roll published on August 13.
The department provided the specific electoral roll details to establish their inclusion. Dr Dharamvir Gandhi and his family are registered as electors in Assembly Constituency No. 115, Patiala, Part No. 98. Their names appear at serial numbers 44 to 48 in the draft electoral roll and the details provided by the department are:
Serial No. 44: Smt. Jagdamba Kaushal, wife of Dr Dharamvir Gandhi
Serial No. 45: Ms. Rohani Prashar, daughter
Serial No. 46: Mrs. Chahat Sahuja, daughter-in-law
Serial No. 47: Mr. Nabendhu, son
Serial No. 48: Dr Dharamvir Gandhi, MP from Patiala
The Election Department has requested media organisations and other platforms to refrain from publishing or publicising information about the SIR exercise unless it has been verified and the clarification comes amid wider discussion over the electoral rolls in Punjab following reports concerning the names of political leaders in the draft rolls.
Media reports had earlier stated that two-time Congress MP from Patiala, Dharamvir Gandhi, had raised concerns after his name and those of his family members were reportedly not found in the draft electoral roll during the SIR exercise, along with this reports also stated that his name appeared later after officials attributed the issue to a technical problem.
Gandhi had said that he had been living at the same address since around 2000 and that the address had been used during his Lok Sabha election campaigns, he had also said that his name and the names of his family members were affected during the SIR process.
According to those reports, Gandhi's name was subsequently added through the prescribed procedure and he also said that he had not personally received a notice, while notices were issued to his wife, son, daughter and daughter-in-law.
The latest official clarification, however, specifically states that Gandhi and his family members are already part of the draft electoral roll published on August 13 and provides their serial numbers in the Patiala electoral roll.
The issue has emerged during the ongoing SIR exercise, under which electoral records are being reviewed and since the current rolls are in the draft stage, voters have an opportunity to raise claims and objections if they find that their name is missing or if there is any discrepancy in their electoral details.
This follows comments by BJP MP Raghav Chadha regarding his own electoral registration. Chadha had said that his name was marked as “shifted” in the draft electoral roll, despite his voter ID being registered in Mohali and he had questioned the circumstances under which his name was shown as shifted.
Chadha had also referred to provisions of the SIR guidelines concerning a protected category of public representatives, including MPs and MLAs.
The Aam Aadmi Party rejected Chadha’s allegations and said that the SIR exercise is conducted by the Election Commission, while the state government does not decide which names are included or removed from electoral rolls and the party also made allegations concerning Chadha’s voter registration and a proposed shift to Delhi.
As the SIR process continues, the draft electoral roll remains open to the prescribed claims and objections process and the final electoral rolls will be published after the relevant process is completed.