Tejashwi Yadav’s Voter Registration Controversy: ECI and JDU Respond

Bihar is experiencing heightened political tensions as the state prepares for the 2025 Assembly elections. Recent concerns have been raised regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, with allegations of irregularities, including the inclusion of deceased individuals and the omission of living citizens. In a recent development, Tejashwi Yadav, the CM candidate for the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and son of party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, claimed his name was missing from the Election Commission’s draft voter list, despite his participation in the enumeration process. This sparked immediate reactions, with the Janata Dal (United) accusing Yadav of misleading the public. Addressing a press conference, Yadav stated his name was absent from the electoral roll, questioning how he could contest the upcoming elections. The Patna district administration countered, clarifying that Yadav’s name is registered but with a changed polling station and serial number. Yadav responded, expressing concern over potential widespread changes to voter information, framing the issue as a conspiracy to remove voters from the list. JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar labeled Yadav a “political fraud.” The Election Commission refuted Yadav’s claims, confirming his name appeared in the draft electoral roll. The SIR process, a unique voter list verification exercise, allows for objections to discrepancies between August 1st and September 1st, 2025. The Commission aims for transparent and comprehensive voter inclusion, with the last intensive revision conducted in 2003. Voters can verify their details on the ECI website.