Patna: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday claimed that his name was missing in the draft electoral rolls published in Bihar and, when met with a rebuttal, insisted that there was a “change” in EPIC number allotted to him.
The leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly demonstrated at a press conference that an online search, with the help of his EPIC number on Election Commission’s website, was yielding the result “no records found”.
The former deputy chief minister said, “The booth level officer (BLO) who visited my place did not give me any receipt of the enumeration form that I had filled up. But I had got myself photographed while handing over my enumeration forms to her”.
The young leader exclaimed, “Now look! I am not registered as a voter myself. This disqualifies me from contesting elections. Perhaps, I cease to be treated as a citizen and stand deprived of the right to live in this house.”
When some of the journalists suggested that he check a printout of the draft electoral rolls provided to all political parties by the EC, Yadav shot back, “The online method is what more people have access to”.
“Would you expect someone residing outside Bihar to come down to look up his name in the electoral rolls? My point is to emphasise that when people like us are at the receiving end, what to speak of the common people. I have heard that even an IAS officer couple has found their names missing”, he said.
The young leader, who is the INDIA Bloc’s de facto chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Assembly polls, remarked, “I would like to see if any BJP leader also has his name missing in the draft rolls.”
Shortly afterwards, senior BJP leader and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary and the Patna district administration came out with screenshots of the draft electoral rolls in which Yadav’s details, along with a photograph, could be seen.
Choudhary came out with a post on his X handle, saying “You (Yadav) lack the qualifications to do a proper search and find your name, which is very much there, alongside that of your father, respected Lalu Prasad (RJD supremo). You would do better to shut your shop dealing in fraudulent and false claims”.
The district administration also came out with a tweet, debunking “news reports suggesting that the name of the honourable leader of the opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, was not in draft rolls prepared as part of special intensive revision in Bihar”.