Former deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday, 13 August, alleged that people from Gujarat are being added to Bihar’s voter rolls in violation of the ‘one man, one vote’ principle.
Citing the example of BJP leader Bhikhubhai Dalsaniya, Yadav claimed Dalsaniya voted in Gujarat in 2024 but is also registered as a voter in Patna. He termed this part of a larger conspiracy by the BJP, allegedly in collusion with the Election Commission, to influence the upcoming Bihar elections.
“Now the people of Gujarat are becoming voters of Bihar. Bhikhubhai Dalsaniya, who is in charge of the BJP, has become a voter of Patna. He cast his last vote in Gujarat in 2024, but he is still a voter of Patna. He had his name deleted in Gujarat, but within five years he is voting elsewhere. After the Bihar elections, where will he go after getting his name deleted? This is a conspiracy you all must understand. The BJP is indulging in large-scale dishonesty with the help of the Election Commission,” Yadav alleged.
He further accused the poll body of “helping BJP leaders obtain two voter cards each” and described the draft electoral rolls after the special intensive revision (SIR) as a “dacoity of votes.”
As an example, Yadav alleged Muzaffarpur mayor Nirmala Devi, a probable BJP candidate, possesses two voter ID cards — REM1251917 and GSB1835164 — in two different booths of the same constituency, with different ages mentioned. He claimed she must have signed two separate enumeration forms and that two of her family members also hold duplicate voter IDs.
Yadav also accused Bihar deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha of having two voter cards from two different constituencies. Sinha rejected the allegations as “false and misleading” and threatened legal action.
Speaking about Dalsaniya’s case, Yadav said his name appears on Bihar’s voter list in Gujarati instead of Hindi, without any address or house number, allegedly to avoid detection. He questioned how prominent leaders could have multiple voter IDs with different details in the same constituency, calling it “dishonesty by the ECI.”
“The people of Bihar know since 2020 that these people are vote thieves. Last time, rigging cost us 15 seats. This time, the public will throw them out of power,” he said, accusing the Election Commission of maintaining “stoic silence” on the issue.
The RJD leader expressed hope the Supreme Court, where the matter is pending, would deliver justice. Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark that “infiltrators” would not be allowed to vote, Yadav said the EC should identify such voters, but pointed out that activists like Yogendra Yadav have noted the January 2025 Bihar voter lists do not show a single “illegal foreign national.” (Agencies)
