Tejashwi Yadav alleges voter-list manipulation by Bihar BJP leader

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday fired a fresh salvo at the BJP and the Election Commission (EC). Yadav alleged that a senior BJP functionary was shifting his name in the electoral roll across several states ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar.

He further alleged that another BJP leader and her two brother-in-law have two EPIC IDs each, adding that the EC was helping the BJP in resorting to such electoral malpractices.

‘Gujarat BJP leader added to Bihar list’

Yadav in a post on X alleged that Bhikhu Bhai Dalsania, a Gujarat-resident and claimed that Bhikhu Bhai Dalsania, a resident of Gujarat and State Organisation General Secretary of Bihar BJP, close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has removed his name from the Gujarat voters’ list and got it included in the Bihar voter list.

"This is Bhikhu Bhai Dalsania Ji. He is a resident of Gujarat. He is the State Organisation General Secretary of the Bihar BJP. He is a close confidant of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. He has been assigned to BJP's special Bihar project," stated Yadav on X.

Also Read: Bihar elections: Voter list deletions, Tejashwi's stand-off dominate poll narratives

‘Had voted in Gandhinagar constituency’

The RJD leader further alleged that earlier Dalsania voted in Shah's Gandhinagar constituency and might register in another state after the Bihar elections.

"In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he voted in Home Minister Amit Shah Ji's Lok Sabha constituency, Gandhinagar. Now, with the Bihar Assembly elections approaching, he has removed his name from Gujarat's voter list and become a voter in Bihar. Once the Bihar elections are over, he will likely become a voter in another state. He should clarify how many times and in how many states he votes in five years,” he added.

Also Read: Tejashwi alleges Bihar Dy CM has two voter cards despite SIR; Vijay Sinha answers

‘Name in Gujarati in voters’ list’

Yadav claimed that not only does the voter list in Bihar show any address or house number for Dalsania, but his name also appears in the Gujarati language rather than Hindi, making it difficult for Hindi-speaking voters to identify.

"In the place in Bihar where he is registered as a voter, no address or house number is listed in the voter list. His name in Bihar's voter list is written not in Hindi but in the Gujarati language, so that no Hindi-speaking person can read it. The Election Commission's greatness is boundless, but this time we are closely monitoring every detail. We will not let the Election Commission's vote theft succeed in Bihar," stated Yadav.

Also Read: EC asks Tejashwi Yadav to hand over voter ID card for probe

‘BJP leaders with multiple EPIC numbers’

Earlier in the day, Yadav accused the poll panel of colluding with the BJP in manipulating the voter list in Bihar by providing two Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers to its leaders and workers.

"Before we had talked about Bihar's deputy chief minister, Vijay Sinha. Now you call it a crime, a mistake, or an expose, we had said it before too, but today I want to tell you that EC is helping the BJP, and cutting the votes of the Opposition. The people of the BJP are being given not one, but two EPIC numbers for themselves, in one Vidhan Sabha only,” said Yadav as quoted by ANI.

"We are exposing one more thing. Muzzafapur's mayor, a BJP leader, named Nirmala Devi, she has two EPIC IDs in the same vidhan sabha. In that, too, they are different. Not only this, but Nirmala Devi has two brothers-in-law; they also have two EPIC numbers," he added.

Also Read: Tejashwi claims his name missing from draft electoral rolls, EC calls it 'baseless'

BJP slams Congress

Later in the day, the BJP lashed out at the Congress over its “vote theft” claim, with BJP MP Anurag Thakur accusing the grand old party of questioning the EC whenever it loses an election.

"This family and party have had a tradition from the beginning that if you lose an election, you raise questions about the Election Commission, the voters, or the functioning of the Election Commission. Indira Gandhi had said, Voters are a bunch of fools. When Rajiv Gandhi lost the election, he blamed the ballot paper. Rahul Gandhi's father used to say, conduct elections with voting machines, and Rahul Gandhi says, conduct elections with ballot papers," said Thakur as quoted by ANI.

"When he (Rahul Gandhi) loses elections, he raises questions about EVMs or blames the voters. Congress said, EVM is rigged for the BJP. Then they said, ban EVMs, bring back ballot papers. Then they said EVMs can be hacked remotely. After every defeat, Congress kept finding new excuses. Congress did not introspect but kept blaming EVMs, the Election Commission and constitutional institutions again and again. Seeing that it is losing the Bihar elections, Congress is already engaged in making false allegations in connivance with opposition parties," he added.

(With agency inputs)