Bihar’s Electoral Roll Under Scrutiny: Tejashwi Yadav Claims Name Omitted, ECI Responds

As Bihar prepares for the 2025 Assembly elections, allegations of irregularities have arisen concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. Concerns include the inclusion of deceased individuals on the voter list and the omission of living citizens. Tejashwi Yadav, the CM candidate of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), has alleged his name is not present in the Election Commission’s draft voter list, despite having filled out the enumeration form during the special revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. He raised questions about his ability to contest the upcoming assembly elections. Janata Dal (United) responded, accusing Tejashwi of deceiving the public. During a press conference in Patna, Tejashwi emphasized his name was not in the electoral roll and questioned how he could run in the elections. He added that his information was not found even with his EPIC number. The Patna district administration quickly responded, stating that Tejashwi Yadav’s name is registered on the voter list, but his polling station and serial number have been changed. Tejashwi questioned the implications of such changes, suggesting a conspiracy to remove names from the voter list. JDU’s chief spokesperson, Neeraj Kumar, labeled Tejashwi a ‘political fraud’. The Election Commission refuted this claim, calling it ‘false and factually incorrect,’ and confirmed that Tejashwi’s name is listed. This situation is exacerbating political tensions in Bihar, especially given the impending elections. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Electoral Roll is a specific voter list verification process currently taking place in Bihar. Objections regarding any discrepancies in the electoral roll can be made.