EC Issues Notice to Prashant Kishor Over Dual Voter Registration in Bihar and West Bengal

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a notice to Prashant Kishor, the founder of Jan Suraaj, for dual enrollment as a voter. Prashant’s name was found in the voters’ list of different states: West Bengal and Bihar. This is considered a breach of the electoral law.  

The incident has put the political strategist-turned-activist under scrutiny as his party continues to fight the Bihar Assembly elections. Does this violation of electoral rules point towards a deeper flaw in political accountability, or does it simply expose a systemic flaw in the ECI's voter roll management system? 

Violation of Electoral Law and Dual Addresses

The controversy stems from the discovery that Kishor is registered as a voter in both his native Bihar and West Bengal. He is registered in the Kargahar assembly constituency of Rohtas district, in Bihar, and his polling station is marked as Madhya Vidyalaya, Konar, his native village. Documents also reveal that he is registered in the Bhabanipur constituency of West Bengal.

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The dual registrations violate Section 17 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. This act clearly forbids an individual from registering as a voter in multiple constituencies. An infringement of this type is a punishable offence under Section 31 of the same Act.

Kishor previously served as a key political consultant for the TMC during the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections. Sources close to the Jan Suraaj party have stated that Mr. Kishor enrolled in Bihar after the West Bengal polls and applied for the deletion of his name from the Bengal rolls, though the status of that application remains unclear.

Political Repercussions Ahead of Bihar Elections

As the controversy coincides with the Bihar Assembly elections, where Kishor’s Jan Suraaj party is actively participating, it is drawing more political attention and criticism. Spokespersons from the ruling NDA alliance have accused Kishor of committing “a heinous crime” and suggested a "vile conspiracy" to undermine the Bihar elections.

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Prashant Kishor, in response, has publicly challenged the ECI, stating that if any law has been violated, authorities should "arrest" him. He has also reportedly challenged the effectiveness of the SIR drive, alleging that if a public name like his would still find itself in two lists, the revision exercise has failed. The ECI, on the other hand, maintains that duplicate entries are a perennial and national issue.

The importance of strict compliance with election laws cannot be emphasized enough. Though the problem of double entries of voters is a major system flaw for the Election Commission, a high-profile personality being associated with such a scandal demands an immediate and open investigation.