The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday asked RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to “hand over for investigation” a voter ID card that he claimed to be in possession of despite having been “not issued officially”.
The leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly had on Saturday demonstrated an online search, with the EPIC number, to claim that his name was missing in the draft electoral rolls published as part of special intensive revision (SIR) and, upon rebuttal from the authorities concerned, alleged that his voter ID card number was “changed”.
In a letter addressed to the former deputy CM, the Sub Divisional Magistrate of Patna Sadar-cum-Electoral Registration Officer for Digha assembly constituency said, “Our preliminary investigation suggests that the EPIC number you mentioned at the press conference on August 2 was not issued officially. You are therefore requested to hand over the EPIC card in original for detailed investigation”.
ECI dismissed RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s allegation that his name was missing from the draft electoral roll or that his EPIC number had been altered.
According to ECI sources, Yadav’s name remains in the Draft Electoral Rolls published under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, and there is no record of the second EPIC number he claimed to possess.
Tejashwi had alleged that his name had been removed from the voter list and that his EPIC (Elector’s Photo Identity Card) number had been changed. “If my EPIC number could be changed, how many others could face the same issue?” he questioned, calling it a conspiracy to suppress voters.
However, the EC clarified that Tejashwi’s original EPIC number — RAB0456228, used during his 2020 election nomination — remains unchanged and active in the draft rolls. His name appears at serial number 416 at polling station number 204, located at the Library Building of Bihar Animal Science University in Patna.
Patna District Magistrate Dr. Thiyagarajan SM also confirmed that Yadav's name remains on the list and has not been removed. “He was earlier listed at polling station number 171, serial number 481, and now appears at polling station 204, serial number 416,” he said.
With inputs from PTI
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