Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Leader of Opposition in Bihar Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday alleged that his name was missing from the “draft electoral rolls” published by the Election Commission of India as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process ahead of the upcoming assembly polls.The Election Commission, however, refuted the claim and released a copy of the draft electoral rolls showing Yadav’s name, photograph, and details at serial number 416.
During a press conference, the former deputy chief minister connected his phone to a large screen and attempted to search for his EPIC number, which returned the message: “no records found.”“Now look! I am myself not registered as a voter. 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,” Yadav said.He also claimed that the booth-level officer who visited his residence with the enumeration form did not provide him any receipt. “But, leaving nothing to chance, I had photographed myself while handing over my signed and duly filled-up form,” the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader added.
“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 got to hear that even an IAS officer couple has found their names missing,” he said.Yadav had recently stirred controversy by threatening to boycott the upcoming elections, alleging that the poll body was attempting to “help” the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) through the revision process.
“I would like to see if any BJP leader also has his name missing in the draft rolls,” he added.Bihar deputy chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Samrat Choudhary responded on X, accusing Yadav of lacking the basic ability to conduct a proper search.“Your name is very much alongside that of your father, respected Lalu Prasad (Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo). You would do better to shut your shop dealing in fraudulent and false claims,” Choudhary said.