ECI asks Tejashwi Yadav to hand over his EPIC card after his name was found on the draft poll roll under a different number

The Election Commission of India (ECI) wrote to Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, on Sunday (August 3, 2025), asking him to provide the details of his EPIC number. This comes a day after he alleged that his name was missing from the State’s draft electoral roll published on Friday (August 1, 2025).

Soon after his claim, the ECI said on Saturday (August 2, 2025) that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader was making “baseless” claims, and furnished the extract of the draft roll where his name was present.

However, confusion prevailed over the fact that the EPIC number quoted by Mr. Yadav was different from the one which the poll body gave him in the list.

Mr. Yadav had claimed that he voted in last year’s Lok Sabha election using a voter ID card with the EPIC number RAB2916120, which is now missing from the draft roll. Instead, the ECI list shows Mr. Yadav’s name with the EPIC number RAB0456228.

Mystery of the missing EPIC

Mr Yadav is a voter in the Digha Assembly seat, but represents the Raghopur Assembly seat as an MLA in the State Assembly.

The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of the Digha constituency wrote to the RJD leader. “It is to be informed that in the press conference held on 02.08.2025, you told that your name is not mentioned in the draft voter list. After investigation, it was found that your name is mentioned at serial number 416 of polling station number 204 (Library Building of Bihar Animal Science University), whose EPIC number is RAB0456228,” the ERO said in his letter.

During his press conference, Mr. Yadav had filled in his EPIC number RAB2916120 on the ECI’s official website and entered the captcha in front of the assembled journalists, showing them that his number was missing. Mr. Yadav had then alleged that the ECI was working as a cell of the BJP, and asked the ECI how he would contest the upcoming Assembly election when his name is not even showing in the draft voter list.

The ERO’s letter added: “According to you, from the quote of your press conference, your EPIC number is RAB2916120. According to the preliminary investigation, EPIC number RAB2916120 does not appear to be officially issued. Therefore, you are requested to provide the details of the mentioned EPIC card (along with the original copy of the card) undersigned, so that it can be thoroughly investigated.” The letter does not mention any deadline by which Mr. Yadav must provide his EPIC card for investigation.

‘Crime to possess two voter IDs’

Reacting to the ERO’s letter, RJD spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan said that the ECI, acting at the behest of the BJP, wants to divert attention from the questions about the draft roll raised by Mr. Yadav and other leaders of the INDIA bloc.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) urged the ECI to take cognizance of Mr. Yadav’s two voter ID cards and file a case against him. In a press conference addressed by spokespersons from the BJP and all its allies in Bihar, they asked where the two EPIC numbers came from, noting that it is a crime for a single individual to possess two voter ID cards.

Meanwhile, the ECI said that, as of 3 p.m. on August 3, no political party in Bihar had yet approached it with a request to remove or include names in the draft rolls. However, the ECI has received 941 such claims and objections from the voters.