Bihar Deputy CM Faces Election Commission Notice Over Duplicate Voter IDs

Election Commission's Action Against Bihar Deputy CM

On Sunday, the Election Commission issued a notice to Vijay Kumar Sinha, the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, regarding allegations of him holding two Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers across different Assembly constituencies, as reported by a news outlet.

The notice requires Sinha, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, to respond by Thursday.

This development followed claims made by Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, who asserted that Sinha possessed two EPIC numbers—one associated with the Lakhi Sarai Assembly seat and the other with the Bankipur constituency.

Yadav pointed out discrepancies in Sinha's age listed on the two cards, stating one indicated he was 57 years old while the other showed 60.

According to Yadav, Sinha had submitted two enumeration forms for the respective Assembly seats.

In response, Sinha clarified that he had previously requested the removal of his name from the Bankipur voter list, but it had not been processed. He provided documentation to support his claim of having applied for the deletion.

Sinha expressed disappointment over Yadav's remarks, suggesting that such behavior was unbecoming of someone in a constitutional role.

Later that day, the electoral registration officer for Bankipur issued a notice confirming that Sinha's name appeared on both the Lakhi Sarai and Bankipur rolls, each with different EPIC numbers, as part of the ongoing electoral roll revision.

The notice indicated that Sinha's name had been present in both constituencies even prior to the special revision.

During a press conference, Yadav criticized the voter roll revision process in Bihar, labeling it as fraudulent and urging the Election Commission not to act as an ally of the ruling party.

He stated that if Sinha is found guilty, he should resign, and if the Election Commission is at fault, the commissioner should issue an apology.

Yadav's accusations came shortly after he claimed in a previous press conference that his name was missing from the draft electoral roll released on August 1.

However, electoral officials in Patna's Digha Assembly constituency dismissed his claims, presenting evidence that his name was indeed included in the draft roll. They also suggested that the voter ID Yadav displayed appeared to be counterfeit.

The Election Commission announced the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar on June 24, requiring individuals not listed in the 2003 voter list to provide proof of eligibility.

The draft roll was published on August 1 as part of the special revision ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, anticipated in October or November, revealing that over 65 lakh names had been removed from the list.