PATNA: Bihar's political slugfest escalated Sunday as the opposition accused deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha of possessing two electoral photo identity cards (EPICs) from separate assembly constituencies with different ages. BJP's Sinha denied wrongdoing, saying he had applied in 2024 to have his name deleted from one list.
The dispute flared after the electoral registration officer of Bankipur served Sinha a notice, asking him to respond by Aug 14 to alleged duplication. The notice said his name appears in the draft voter lists of both Bankipur (182) and Lakhisarai (168) assembly constituencies and was registered in both before EC's special intensive revision of Bihar's electoral rolls.
Earlier in the day, RJD's Tejashwi Prasad Yadav - himself under fire over alleged possession of dual EPICs - and Congress functionaries held separate press conferences, charging that Sinha's case exposed flaws in SIR.
"He owns two different EPICs, but what is serious is that it happened after SIR," Tejashwi told reporters. "Either the entire SIR process is fraudulent or the Bihar deputy CM is a fraud. His name figures on two voter lists, which means he must have signed both enumeration forms. If not, then election commission is involved in fraud."
Tejashwi demanded action from Lakhisarai and Patna district administrations, accusing EC of ignoring repeated complaints.
State Congress president Rajesh Kumar backed the charge, alleging BJP was "unexpectedly and forcibly creating new voters and removing our voters' names", calling it proof of party MP Rahul Gandhi's earlier claim that EC "conspired with BJP to steal votes".
Sinha rejected the allegations and accused Tejashwi of misleading the public. "In April last year, I sent an application for removing my name from Bankipur. I don't know why it was not deleted," he said. "This time again, I called the BLO, submitted a written application, and took a receipt seeking deletion. I have both documents."
He insisted he voted only from Lakhisarai. "Tejashwi is simply trying to mislead people by giving wrong facts. Entire Bihar knows he plays the game of tarnishing others' images. He should apologise," Sinha said.
The dispute flared after the electoral registration officer of Bankipur served Sinha a notice, asking him to respond by Aug 14 to alleged duplication. The notice said his name appears in the draft voter lists of both Bankipur (182) and Lakhisarai (168) assembly constituencies and was registered in both before EC's special intensive revision of Bihar's electoral rolls.
Earlier in the day, RJD's Tejashwi Prasad Yadav - himself under fire over alleged possession of dual EPICs - and Congress functionaries held separate press conferences, charging that Sinha's case exposed flaws in SIR.
"He owns two different EPICs, but what is serious is that it happened after SIR," Tejashwi told reporters. "Either the entire SIR process is fraudulent or the Bihar deputy CM is a fraud. His name figures on two voter lists, which means he must have signed both enumeration forms. If not, then election commission is involved in fraud."
Tejashwi demanded action from Lakhisarai and Patna district administrations, accusing EC of ignoring repeated complaints.
State Congress president Rajesh Kumar backed the charge, alleging BJP was "unexpectedly and forcibly creating new voters and removing our voters' names", calling it proof of party MP Rahul Gandhi's earlier claim that EC "conspired with BJP to steal votes".
Sinha rejected the allegations and accused Tejashwi of misleading the public. "In April last year, I sent an application for removing my name from Bankipur. I don't know why it was not deleted," he said. "This time again, I called the BLO, submitted a written application, and took a receipt seeking deletion. I have both documents."
He insisted he voted only from Lakhisarai. "Tejashwi is simply trying to mislead people by giving wrong facts. Entire Bihar knows he plays the game of tarnishing others' images. He should apologise," Sinha said.
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