Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, a fresh political controversy has erupted after, the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday asked RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to “hand over for investigation” a voter ID card that he claimed to be in possession of despite having been “not issued officially”.
The issue has quickly escalated, with NDA leaders launching a scathing attack and demanding criminal proceedings. The poll body also claimed that no political party in Bihar has so far approached it.
The poll body has further said that no one has approached it for inclusion or removal of names from the draft electoral roll published on August 1.
As per the notice issued by the Sub Divisional Magistrate of Patna Sadar-cum-Electoral Registration Officer for Digha Assembly constituency, to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, the poll body has asked him to furnish details of the EPIC card he presented during his press conference on Saturday, so that the matter can be thoroughly investigated. Staunchly denying his claim, the Commission had said the EPIC number of the ID is not “officially issued”.
“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. After investigation, it was found that your name is mentioned at serial number 416 of polling station number 204 (Library Building of Bihar Animal Science University), whose EPIC number is RAB0456228. According to you, as per the quote of your press conference, your EPIC number is RAB2916120.
According to preliminary investigation, EPIC number RAB2916120 does not appear to be officially issued. Therefore, you are requested to kindly provide the details of the mentioned EPIC card (along with the original copy of the card) mentioned by you in the press conference held on 2.8.2025 to the undersigned, so that it can be thoroughly investigated,” the notice said.
According to sources, the Election Commission is now investigating the authenticity of the EPIC number RAB2916120, which Tejashwi presented. Officials say this number has no traceable record in the last 10 years. Sources said, “It’s possible that this second card was never generated through an official process. It could be a forged document. We are investigating the origin of this number.”
The leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly had on Saturday demonstrated an online search, with the EPIC number, to claim that his name was missing in the draft electoral rolls published as part of special intensive revision (SIR) and, upon rebuttal from the authorities concerned, alleged that his voter ID card number was “changed”. In front of cameras, he had tried to verify his own details, using his EPIC (Elector’s Photo Identity Card) number -- a unique alphanumeric code printed on voter IDs -- but said the information was not the Commission’s online portal.
The NDA held a joint press conference on Sunday in Patna, where leaders from BJP, JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM, and RLM accused Tejashwi of possessing two voter ID cards, which they said is a criminal offense. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra joined the chorus, suggesting that this was the reason Tejashwi seemed nervous recently.
“If the top leader of the party is in such trouble, what can be expected for the rest of the cadre?” he questioned.
“The Congress and RJD have been thoroughly exposed... Did you (Yadav) lie under oath? Did you present wrong facts to the Election Commission,” Patra asked at a press conference.
Patra noted that the voter ID the RJD leader had submitted in his 2020 poll affidavit was different from the one he had mentioned on Saturday to claim that his name was missing from the electoral rolls prepared after the contentious Special Intensive Revision exercise. He accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his ally Yadav of resorting to lies to weaken and insult constitutional institutions like the Election Commission and to dent India’s stature. If a party leader like Yadav carries two voter IDs, then what will its workers be doing, the BJP spokesperson asked, claiming that it showed RJD members cast votes at two places to inflate support for their party.
In another press statement, the poll body said that between 3 PM on August 1 and 3 pm on August 3 (Sunday), no demand under claims and objections has been received. But individually, 941 claims and objections have been received from voters for the inclusions of names or for the removal of those they claim are ineligible from the voter list.
Political parties and voters have one month till September 1 to demand inclusion or removal of names from the voter list.
The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll in Bihar has seen opposition parties attacking the EC, alleging that the exercise will deny voting rights to crores of eligible persons for want of documents.
The EC maintains that it has ensured that no eligible person will be left out of the final electoral roll to be published on September 30.