In a quick and effective move, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has dismissed the allegation made by RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav that his name was not included in the revised draft electoral rolls of Bihar. Yadav had given a press conference at which he showed his Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number and produced a “no records found” message on the ECI\’s mobile app. He asked how he could fight the forthcoming assembly elections when his name was not on the list, a contention which ignited a political row.
ECI\’s Direct Denial with Evidence
Patna District Magistrate-cum-District Election Officer Dr. Thiyagarajan SM was quick to deny the charge, explaining that Tejashwi Yadav\’s name is enrolled in the draft voter list. The ECI posted a copy of the list, listing his name at serial number 416 in polling station number 204. The commission said that any such claim was “false and factually incorrect.” It was suspected that Yadav might have searched with an older EPIC number that resulted in the “no records found” message. This straight retort by the ECI has left the RJD chief on the back foot.
1. कुछ समाचार माध्यमों से यह ज्ञात हुआ है कि माननीय नेता प्रतिपक्ष श्री तेजस्वी प्रसाद यादव का नाम विशेष गहन पुनरीक्षण के प्रारूप मतदाता सूची में नहीं है।
2. इस बारे में जिला प्रशासन, पटना द्वारा जाँच की गई। इसमें यह स्पष्ट हुआ है कि माननीय नेता प्रतिपक्ष का नाम प्रारूप मतदाता… pic.twitter.com/HmXu419Oek
— District Administration Patna (@dm_patna) August 2, 2025
The Larger Voter List Row
Yadav\’s complaint was a part of a greater protest by the Mahagathbandhan against the ECI\’s “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of voters\’ rolls in Bihar. The opposition has charged that this exercise is a conscious effort to disenfranchise the voters, asserting that more than 65 lakh names have been unjustly struck off. The ECI, nonetheless, asserts that the SIR is a regular exercise to keep the electoral roll free of duplicate names, dead voters, and people who have irreversibly moved. The commission has given a one-month window for the submission of claims and objections to any irregularities.
Political Fallout and Future Actions
The row has complicated the political distrust between the opposition and the ECI in the lead-up to the pivotal Bihar assembly elections. The ECI has been employing the hashtag #ECIFactCheck to rebuff what it terms “misinformation” surrounding the revision exercise. The RJD has sought a transparent breakdown of the cancelled names, their addresses, and booth numbers, for purposes of verification. Though the ECI has provided political party representatives with hard and soft copies of the draft rolls, the RJD is not satisfied. The Supreme Court, too, has spoken on this issue, granting the ECI permission to publish the draft list but issuing a caution that it would intervene if it detects evidence of “mass exclusion.”
