Bihar Elections: Tejashwi Yadav Alleges Missing Voter Entry, ECI Disputes Claim

As Bihar gears up for the 2025 Assembly elections, a controversy has erupted concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. Concerns have been raised about inaccuracies, including the alleged inclusion of deceased individuals and the omission of living citizens from the voter list. Tejashwi Yadav, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) CM candidate and son of party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, claimed his name was missing from the draft voter list, despite submitting the required enumeration form. He questioned how he would participate in the upcoming elections. The Janata Dal (United) responded by accusing Yadav of misleading the public regarding the voter list issue. Yadav stated at a press conference that his name was absent from the electoral roll and that even his Elector’s Photo Identification Card (EPIC) number did not return any information. The Patna district administration clarified that Yadav’s name is registered, but his polling station and serial number had been changed. Yadav responded by questioning the extent of these changes and suggesting a possible conspiracy to remove names from the voter list. The Election Commission refuted Yadav’s claim, stating that his name is listed in the draft electoral roll. JDU’s chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar labeled Yadav a ‘political fraud’. The SIR process is designed to verify voter lists, and objections can be filed from August 1st to September 1st, 2025. Bihar’s draft electoral roll has gone live with a minority of applicants submitting required documentation. The objectives of the exercise were to ensure the inclusion of names of all eligible citizens in the electoral roll in a transparent manner. The last intensive revision for Bihar was conducted by the Commission in the year 2003. The voters can check their details at ECI website.