- Vijay Kumar Sinha received a notice for possessing two voter ID cards in different constituencies
- Sinha's name appears in Lakhisarai and Bankipur assembly constituency voter rolls
- Election Commission seeks explanation from Sinha by 5 pm on August 14
A notice has been issued to Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha for allegedly possessing two voter ID cards and being registered as a voter in two places. The notice from the Election Commission came in the huge political row over fake voters, that is being spearheaded by Congress's Rahul Gandhi.
Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar, in a post on X on Saturday, shared screenshots of the draft electoral rolls bearing Mr Sinha's name as a voter in Lakhisarai, his assembly seat, as well as Bankipur in Patna.
The Electoral Registration Officer of Bankipur Assembly constituency has now sent the notice, seeking an explanation for his name being listed in the voter rolls of two different assembly constituencies. He has been asked to respond by 5 pm on August 14.
Mr Sinha has insisted that he voted from only one place. "I vote from only one place. Last time, too, I voted from only one place. The prince of jungle-raj (Tejashwi Yadav) is simply trying to mislead people by giving wrong facts," he said, demanding that the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader apologise for making false allegations against him.
Earlier today, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Tejashwi Yadav had alleged that the Deputy Chief Minister has two voter ID cards and asked what action was being taken against Sinha.
"His name is there in the Lakhisarai assembly constituency in Lakhisarai and also in the Bankipur assembly seat in Patna district," Mr Yadav was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.
"Surprisingly, this has happened after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the Election Commission in Bihar," he said. "Who should be held responsible, Sinha himself or the Election Commission? What action is being taken against Sinha?" he added, calling for the Deputy Chief Minister's resignation.
"Earlier, names of mine and my family members were listed in the Bankipur assembly seat. In April 2024, I applied to add my name from Lakhisarai. I also filled a form to remove my and my family members' names from Bankipur. For some reason, my name was not removed from Bankipur," the Deputy Chief Minister said, responding to the Opposition leader's allegations.
The BJP's Jagadambika Pal hit back, saying Mr Yadav, too, was a voter from two places. "He had two voter IDs, which is illegal. It is a crime. So it means that on a large scale, people of Tejashwi's party are registered as voters at many places," he said.
Tejashwi Yadav had earlier alleged that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls. Election Commission officials, however, found that his name is listed, witha different EPIC number and asked him to give an explanation.
