Poll body flags duplicate voter ID of Sudama Prasad's wife amid poll roll revision

Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav having two voter ID cards, Election Commission sources on Sunday said that another case of dual voter ID cards has come to light.

According to officials, the wife of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation MP Sudama Prasad also holds two Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC). Sudama Prasad is the member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly who serves as a Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha from Arrah.

CPI(ML) Liberation is one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

Meanwhile, earlier on Sunday, the poll body asked RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to submit a voter ID card he displayed publicly, which officials say was “not issued officially.”

Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly, had on Saturday alleged that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls published as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

He claimed that his original EPIC number had been changed and demonstrated an online search using the number at a press conference.

In response, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Patna Sadar-cum-Electoral Registration Officer for Digha constituency wrote to Yadav, saying that a preliminary investigation showed the EPIC number he mentioned had not been officially issued. He was asked to hand over the card in question for further inquiry.

District Magistrate Thiyagaraja S M clarified that the EPIC number currently in the electoral roll is the same as the one listed in Yadav’s 2020 assembly election affidavit. If another EPIC card exists, he said, it warrants investigation.

Meanwhile, NDA leaders including BJP’s Ajay Alok, JD(U)’s Neeraj Kumar, and LJP (Ram Vilas)’s Rajesh Bhatt demanded legal action against Yadav for allegedly holding two voter ID cards. They questioned whether Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, a key ally in the INDIA bloc, supported what they termed as “fraud.”

Their remarks follow Gandhi’s recent claim that the Congress has an “atom bomb” of evidence to prove the Election Commission manipulated votes in favour of the BJP. NDA leaders said the opposition was attempting to discredit the EC due to fear of defeat in upcoming elections.

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