EC asks Tejashwi to hand over his EPIC card for investigation as it was not issued officially

Patna: The Election Commission has asked Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav to submit a voter identity card he recently displayed, stating that it appeared not to have been officially issued. The directive came a day after Yadav alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls during a press conference in Patna.

On Saturday, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly had demonstrated an online search using an Electors Photo Identity

Card (EPIC) number, claiming that his name was missing from the draft rolls released under the Special Intensive Revision process. He further alleged that his voter ID number had been altered

after election officials contested his claim.

In a letter addressed to Yadav, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Patna Sadar, who also serves as the Electoral Registration Officer for Digha constituency, wrote, “Our preliminary investigation suggests that the EPIC number you mentioned at the press conference on August 2 was not issued officially. You are therefore requested to hand over the EPIC card in original for detailed investigation.”

Following the letter, Yadav repeated his allegation that his EPIC number had been “changed”. However, Patna District Magistrate Thiyagaraja S M dismissed the assertion, stating, “The EPIC number in the electoral rolls is the one that was submitted by the honourable leader of the opposition in his affidavit in the 2020 Assembly polls. If he is in possession of another EPIC card with another number as well, then it is a matter of investigation.”

The controversy drew a sharp response from leaders of the state’s ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). At a joint press conference, BJP spokesperson Ajay Alok, JDU’s Neeraj Kumar, and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) representative Rajesh Bhatt called for legal action against Yadav. “He should be booked for having two EPIC cards, which is not permissible,” they said.

The NDA leaders also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, demanding to know whether the alleged irregularity was the “atom bomb” he had recently referred to while accusing the Election Commission of favouring the BJP. Gandhi had earlier claimed that his party possessed evidence of “vote theft” by the Commission.

According to the NDA spokespersons, the opposition INDIA bloc was attempting to create grounds for disputing the outcome of the upcoming assembly elections. “It is like an anticipatory bail sought by criminals,” one leader remarked, suggesting that the allegations were a pre-emptive tactic ahead of an expected defeat.