Bihar Elections: Can Tejashwi Yadav Contest Even If His Identify Is Lacking From Voter Checklist?
Final Up to date:
The controversy started when Tejashwi Yadav stated throughout a press convention that a web-based search utilizing his EPIC quantity confirmed no match within the up to date voter checklist
RJD leaders alleged that Tejashwi’s identify was deleted with out discover or justification, calling it a “conspiracy”. (Credit: X)
A political storm is brewing in Bihar after Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav claimed that his identify had been faraway from the voter checklist in what he described as a deliberate try to dam him from contesting the subsequent election. However behind the political noise lies a authorized and procedural query: what occurs if a frontrunner’s identify is lacking from the voter checklist? Can they nonetheless contest elections?
Right here’s what the legislation says, and the way related instances have performed out previously.
Does A Lacking Identify Imply Disqualification?
In response to the Illustration of the Individuals Act, 1951, it isn’t obligatory for a candidate to be registered in the identical constituency they want to contest from. What is important is that their identify figures within the electoral roll of any constituency throughout the nation.
So if Tejashwi Yadav’s identify has been deleted from Patna’s Pataliputra constituency, however he’s nonetheless registered as a voter in one other constituency (say, Darbhanga or Gopalganj) he stays eligible to contest elections.
Nevertheless, if his identify has been deleted from all electoral rolls, and he’s not registered as a voter wherever within the nation, he can’t contest any election, meeting or parliamentary, till he will get re-enrolled.
What Does The Legislation Require?
For meeting elections, a candidate have to be:
- An Indian citizen
- A minimum of 25 years of age
- A registered voter in any constituency in India
For Lok Sabha elections, the age restrict is 25; for Rajya Sabha, it’s 30. The voter registration situation stays the identical.
Has This Occurred Earlier than?
It’s pretty frequent for leaders to contest elections from constituencies the place they aren’t registered voters. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi, regardless of being a voter from Gujarat. Sushma Swaraj contested from Madhya Pradesh regardless that she was on the rolls in Haryana. Arvind Kejriwal, Rajnath Singh, and Manish Tewari have additionally contested from exterior their house constituencies.
In all these instances, their eligibility stood agency as a result of they had been enrolled as voters someplace within the nation.
Why Are Names Eliminated From The Voter Checklist?
The Election Fee routinely updates electoral rolls. Throughout the current Particular Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, over 65 lakh names had been deleted for a number of causes:
- Change of residence
- Duplicate entries
- Mistakenly declared deceased
If somebody’s identify has been wrongly eliminated, they will apply for restoration by submitting Kind-6 together with legitimate paperwork.
Can Tejashwi Yadav Contest Elections?
As of now, sure, if he’s registered elsewhere. Except it’s confirmed that his identify has been deleted from each voter checklist in India, the removing from Pataliputra doesn’t legally cease him from submitting his nomination from any seat.
Bihar Political Row
The controversy started when Tejashwi Yadav stated throughout a press convention that a web-based search utilizing his EPIC quantity confirmed no match within the up to date voter checklist. He accused officers of fixing his voter ID quantity and deleting his entry.
RJD leaders alleged that Tejashwi’s identify was deleted with out discover or justification, calling it a conspiracy, “Tejashwi ji’s identify is lacking from the voter checklist! Identify being faraway from the voter checklist means Tejashwi ji can’t contest elections! On the directions of two Gujaratis, Kechua refused to just accept Bihar’s son coming from a backward group as a ‘citizen’! That is the true ‘purification’ of the voter checklist,” RJD spokesperson Priyanka Bharti posted on X (previously Twitter).
तेजस्वी जी का ही नाम वोटर लिस्ट से गायब है!वोटर लिस्ट से नाम कटने का मतलब तेजस्वी जी चुनाव नहीं लड़ सकते!
केचुआ ने दो गुजराती के इशारे पर पिछड़े समुदाय से आने वाले बिहार के बेटे को ही “नागरिक” मानने से इनकार कर दिया!
यही है वोटर लिस्ट का असल “शुद्धिकरण” pic.twitter.com/EOtvlzxhEI
— Priyanka Bharti (@priyanka2bharti) August 2, 2025
Nevertheless, the Election Fee has denied the claims, clarifying that Tejashwi’s identify nonetheless seems on the electoral rolls. Regardless of the clarification, the controversy has escalated with the RJD vowing to boost the matter with the Election Fee and even method the courts.
In a brand new twist, the Election Fee on Sunday requested Tejashwi Yadav to “hand over for investigation” a voter ID card that he displayed throughout a press convention, claiming it was linked to an EPIC quantity that not mirrored his identify within the up to date checklist. In response to PTI, the Sub-Divisional Justice of the Peace of Patna Sadar-cum-Electoral Registration Officer, in a letter to Yadav, stated, “Our preliminary investigation means that the EPIC quantity you talked about on the press convention on August 2 was not issued formally. You might be subsequently requested handy over the EPIC card in unique for detailed investigation.”
Tejashwi had accused authorities of fixing his voter ID quantity. However Patna District Justice of the Peace Thiyagaraja SM dismissed the allegation. “The EPIC quantity within the electoral rolls is the one which was submitted by the honourable chief of the opposition in his affidavit within the 2020 meeting polls. If he’s in possession of one other EPIC card with one other quantity as effectively, then it’s a matter of investigation,” he stated.
The controversy has prompted a powerful response from leaders of the ruling NDA. At a joint press convention, NDA spokespersons Ajay Alok (BJP), Neeraj Kumar (JDU), and Rajesh Bhatt (LJP-Ram Vilas) accused Yadav of fraud and referred to as for a police case. “Tejashwi Yadav must be booked for having two EPIC playing cards, which isn’t allowed,” they stated.
The leaders additionally took purpose at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, asking whether or not this was the “atom bomb” of proof he had threatened the Election Fee with. Gandhi had just lately claimed his celebration had proof of “vote chori” by the BJP. The Election Fee responded on Sunday, asking him to submit the voter ID card in query for investigation, saying the quantity he referenced was “not issued formally”.
Patna District Justice of the Peace Thiyagaraja SM clarified that the EPIC quantity within the official electoral rolls matched the one submitted by Yadav in his 2020 election affidavit. “If he’s in possession of one other EPIC card with one other quantity as effectively, then it’s a matter of investigation,” the DM stated, in response to PTI.
In the meantime, NDA leaders have alleged that Tejashwi possesses two voter ID playing cards, which, if true, might invite authorized penalties. BJP’s Ajay Alok, JDU’s Neeraj Kumar, and LJP-Ram Vilas’ Rajesh Bhatt demanded an FIR be lodged. Additionally they accused the opposition of making an attempt to “pre-empt defeat” within the upcoming elections.
view feedback
Learn Extra
