Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, has been asked to produce the voter ID card he presented at a news conference yesterday to support his claim that his name is not on the draft voter list. The Election Commission has denied this assertion. His allegation was vehemently denied by the Commission, which stated that the ID’s EPIC number was not “officially issued”.
Meanwhile, CPI(ML) MP Sudama Prasad is said to have two EPICS, according to EC sources. Details on the EPIC cards have been made public by sources. His group is a petitioner against SIR before the Supreme Court.
With the EC firing back, “There is no voter ID shown by you”
The Election Commission of India formally issued a notice to Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in Bihar, challenging one of the major statements he made in a press conference. The poll body found that the EPIC number shown by him-RAB2916120-was not validly issued while confirming that he is indeed in the draft voter list under valid EPIC number RAB0456228 as serial number 416 at polling station number 204 in Patna.
The notice demands Yadav to submit the original EPIC card with the disputed number for verification. His claim about being removed from the electoral rolls is termed “factually incorrect.”
For an Outdated ID with a Political Backlash
Yadav claimed that his name had been removed from the draft list post-Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alarming a possible mass deletion of voters. Later, EC officials provided clarity that his EPIC number has not changed since 2020, and the confusion arose because Yadav was using an outdated or invalid EPIC while searching and not from the removal of his record.
Political opponents, especially some BJP and JD(U) leaders, have allegedly accused him of violating electoral norms and creating misinformation. The RJD spokesperson shot back with further allegations of possible manipulation of data post-press conference. Meanwhile, ECI officials state that the revision has been procedural and not biased.
The whole row extends to much larger scrutiny granted to Bihar’s SIR-a voter roll cleanup exercise that has seen the removal of over 65 lakh names. Opponents, including parties and women’s organizations, warn of the disenfranchisement of migrant, poor, and marginalized voters-while the EC and even the Supreme Court seek calls for inclusion and transparency in procedure.
