Dual Voter ID Row: EC Notice to Bihar Deputy CM Vijay Sinha After Tejashwi’s Allegation
The Election Commission on Sunday issued a notice to Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister, Vijay Kumar Sinha, after allegations surfaced that the senior BJP leader possesses two voter identity cards. The action from the poll body comes a day after Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav made the explosive claim and demanded an investigation, intensifying the political heat in the poll-bound state.
The controversy erupted when Yadav alleged that Sinha was registered as a voter in two different assembly constituencies—Lakhisarai and Bankipur in Patna district—with two separate EPIC numbers and even differing ages listed. “Who should be held responsible, either Sinha himself or the Election Commission? What action is being taken against Sinha? When will he resign?” the Leader of the Opposition demanded. RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav also joined the attack, questioning on social media whether a criminal case would be registered against the Deputy CM.
In response, Vijay Kumar Sinha has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the allegations as a malicious attempt by Tejashwi Yadav to mislead the public. Sinha clarified that he had legally applied to transfer his voter registration from Bankipur to Lakhisarai in April 2024 and had simultaneously submitted a form to have his name removed from the Bankipur list.
“I have evidence. For some reason, my name was not removed from Bankipur… I called the Booth Level Officer and submitted a written application and took a receipt seeking deletion,” Sinha stated at a press conference, asserting, “I vote from only one place.”
Sinha accused the RJD leader of playing a “game of tarnishing the image of others” and demanded an apology for the “false allegations.” An official confirmed to news agency PTI that a notice had been served to Sinha, asking him to respond to the claims.
This high-profile dispute unfolds amid the already contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted across Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
