Patna: The Election Commission on Sunday issued a notice to Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha for allegedly possessing two voter cards and being registered as an elector at two places, officials said.
Earlier in the day, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the deputy CM has two voter ID cards and asked what action was taken against Sinha.
“A notice has been served to Sinha for allegedly possessing two voter cards. He has been asked to respond to why he has two voter IDs,” an official said here.
Yadav, talking to reporters here in the morning, claimed, “Vijay Kumar Sinha is a voter from two different assembly constituencies in two districts. His name is there in the Lakhisarai assembly constituency in Lakhisarai and also in the Bankipur assembly seat in Patna district.” In a letter issued to the deputy CM on Sunday by the Electoral Registration Officer for Bankipur assembly constituency, the ERO sought Sinha’s reply for having registered as “a voter in two different assembly constituencies and possessing two ID cards” by August 14.
Yadav said in the morning, “Sinha has two different Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs). Surprisingly, it has happened after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the Election Commission in Bihar. Who should be held responsible, either Sinha himself or the Election Commission? What action is being taken against Sinha? When will he (Sinha) resign from the post after the revelations?” Reacting to Yadav’s allegations, Sinha told reporters, “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. I have evidence.” “For some reason, my name was not removed from Bankipur, and it appeared in the draft electoral roll. I called the booth-level officer and submitted a written application. I have a receipt seeking the deletion of my name from Bankipur,” he claimed.
Sinha said that he has 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) is simply trying to mislead people by giving wrong facts. Entire Bihar knows that he (Tejashwi) plays the game of tarnishing the image of others. He should apologise for making false allegations against me,” Sinha said.
Yadav, the leader of opposition in the Bihar assembly, said Sinha’s EPIC ID number in the Lakhisarai assembly constituency is IAF3939337, and in the Bankipur assembly constituency in Patna district, his ID number is AFS0853341.
“While Sinha’s age is 57 years on one list and 60 years on another. Is this not fraud and a scam? He must have filled two different forms in two assembly constituencies. He deliberately got two names registered at two different places. If he did not personally sign both forms, did the Election Commission create two IDs for him, based on forged signatures? Will he receive two different notices, or are these rules only for the opposition leaders?” Yadav asked.
Commenting on the EC asking him to respond to the allegation that he holds two EPIC numbers, the RJD leader said, “I have replied to the EC. Why should I need to give an explanation for this?” He accused the EC of attempting to pin on him a “mistake committed by its officials”.
Recently, the EC had asked Yadav to respond to the allegation that he holds two EPIC numbers.
“Whose lapse was it if two EPIC numbers were issued to me? They made the mistake and are seeking an explanation from me,” Yadav claimed.
Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar, in a post on X on Saturday, shared screenshots of the draft electoral rolls in which the name of the deputy CM has been shown as a voter in Lakhisarai, his assembly seat, as well as Bankipur in the capital city.
News agency PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the screenshots shared by Kumar.
Kumar asked, “Had Sinha been casting his vote from two places? How did he file his enumeration forms from more than one place? Would there be an FIR against him for this fraud?”.
