Bihar: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleges name missing from voter list, Election Commission refutes

Patna (Bihar) [India], August 2 (ANI): Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, on Saturday alleged that his name was missing from the voter list amid Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has refuted his claim.
"My name is not there in the electoral roll. How will I contest the elections?" Tejashwi Yadav asked after he was unable to fetch his name using his Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number.
However, the ECI clarified that Tejashwi's name is included in the draft voter list at serial number 416.
ECI, in a statement, stated, "It has come to our attention that Tejashwi Yadav has made a mischievous claim that his name does not appear in the draft electoral roll. His name is listed at Serial Number 416 in the Draft Electoral Roll. Therefore, any claim stating that his name is not included in the draft electoral roll is false and factually incorrect."

The District Administration of Patna also clarified the situation and mentioned that his name is included at polling station number 204, Library Building of Bihar Animal Science University.
District Magistrate of Patna said, "It has been learned from some news sources that the name of the Leader of Opposition, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, is not in the draft voter list of special intensive revision. An investigation was conducted in this regard by the District Administration, Patna. It has become clear in this that the name of the Leader of the Opposition is recorded in the draft voter list."
"At present, his name is recorded at polling station number 204, Library Building of Bihar Animal Science University, serial number 416. Earlier, his name was recorded at polling station number 171, serial number 481, Library Building of Bihar Animal Science University," Patna DM added.
This comes after the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday released the draft voter list for Bihar, following a month-long special intensive revision (SIR) process. The EC said the public has one month to submit claims and objections, assuring that "no name will be removed from the draft voter list without a stated reason."
"The draft voter list has been released today in Bihar. One-month period for claims and objections begins; draft list shared with political parties. Still a full one month to get names added. No name will be removed from the draft voter list without a stated reason," the Commission stated in a statement on X.
Earlier on Friday, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing the poll body of being complicit in "vote theft" to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Gandhi claimed his party has "open-and-shut proof" of the alleged electoral malpractice, which he likened to an "atom bomb" that will expose the ECI's involvement when revealed.
Talking to reporters on the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Congress said, "Votes are being stolen. We have open-and-shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in this vote theft. And I'm not saying this lightly, I'm speaking with 100% proof. And when we release it (proof), the entire country will come to know that the Election Commission is enabling vote theft. And who are they doing it for? They're doing it for the BJP."
Gandhi said that the findings of an investigation by the Congress amount to nothing short of an "atom bomb," with implications severe enough to shake the very foundations of the ECI.
"We had suspicion of voter theft, and we got into its granularity. Since the Election Commision was not helpful in the investigation, we did our own. It took six months, and the things we found are an 'Atom Bomb' and when this atom bomb explodes, you won't see the Election Commission in the country," he added. (ANI)