Election Commission sends notice to Bihar Dy-CM over dual voter registration
The controversy erupted after Congress and RJD leaders highlighted Sinha's registration in two constituencies.
Patna: Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Vijay Kumar Sinha, has been issued a notice by the Election Commission for allegedly possessing two voter ID cards. Sinha is registered as a voter in two separate assembly constituencies.
This development comes amid a political controversy surrounding alleged fake voters, a campaign prominently led by Congress leader and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
The notice was sent by the Electoral Registration Officer of the Bankipur Assembly constituency in Patna, asking Sinha to provide an explanation for his name appearing on the voter rolls of both Lakhisarai, his current assembly seat, and Bankipur. Sinha has been given a deadline of 5 pm on August 14th to respond.
The issue first surfaced on Saturday when Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar shared screenshots of the draft electoral rolls on X, highlighting Sinha's dual registration.
Shortly thereafter, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav amplified these allegations, questioning the Election Commission's actions and demanding Sinha's resignation. "His name is there in the Lakhisarai assembly constituency in Lakhisarai and also in the Bankipur assembly seat in Patna district," Yadav was quoted by PTI.
He further questioned the timing of this situation, noting it occurred after the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, and asked, "Who should be held responsible, Sinha himself or the Election Commission? What action is being taken against Sinha?"
Responding to the allegations, Vijay Kumar Sinha asserted that he has only ever voted from one location. "I vote from only one place. Last time, too, I voted from only one place. The prince of jungle-raj (Tejashwi Yadav) is simply trying to mislead people by giving wrong facts," he stated, demanding an apology from the RJD leader for what he termed false accusations.
Sinha also provided his explanation for the dual registration. He stated that he had applied to add his name to the voter list in Lakhisarai in April 2024 and had also submitted a form to remove his and his family members' names from the Bankipur constituency. "For some reason, my name was not removed from Bankipur," the Deputy Chief Minister explained.
The controversy has also seen the BJP retaliate, with Jagadambika Pal accusing Tejashwi Yadav of a similar offence. "He had two voter IDs, which is illegal. It is a crime. So it means that on a large scale, people of Tejashwi's party are registered as voters at many places," Pal stated. This comes after Tejashwi Yadav himself had alleged that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls, prompting election officials to find his name listed with a different EPIC number and request an explanation from him.