With the 2025 Assembly elections on the horizon, Bihar is witnessing fresh political disputes, largely stemming from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. There are reported issues with the voter list, including deceased individuals’ names being included and living citizens’ names being excluded. Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD’s CM candidate and son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, has claimed his name is not present on the Election Commission’s draft voter list. He mentioned he had submitted the necessary enumeration form during the special revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. Yadav questioned how he would be able to participate in the upcoming assembly elections. Janata Dal (United) reacted, accusing Tejashwi of misleading the public. At a press conference in Patna, Tejashwi confirmed his name was not included, and he asked how he could contest the elections. He reported that the information about his name was unavailable even when using his EPIC number. The Patna district administration clarified that Tejashwi Yadav’s name is present in the voter list, albeit with a changed polling station and serial number. Tejashwi then raised concerns about the potential scale of these changes and suggested that there was a conspiracy to remove names. JDU’s spokesperson, Neeraj Kumar, referred to Tejashwi as a ‘political fraud’. However, the Election Commission refuted the statement, calling it ‘false and factually incorrect,’ and confirmed that Tejashwi’s name is listed in the draft electoral roll. This matter is intensifying the already heated political environment in Bihar, particularly as the elections draw near. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Electoral Roll is underway in Bihar.
