Patna/Delhi, 28 October (H.S.): The issue of election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor being registered as a voter in both Bihar and West Bengal created a political storm on Tuesday, with the Election Commission (EC) issuing him a notice for violating the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

The poll body has sought an explanation from Kishor within three days, noting that dual voter registration is a punishable offence carrying a one-year jail term, a fine, or both under Section 31 of the Act.

According to EC officials, Kishor is listed as a voter in Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in West Bengal, represented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with his address recorded as 121, Kalighat Road, the headquarters of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). His polling station is St. Helen School on B. Ranishankari Lane.

Simultaneously, in Bihar, Kishor is enrolled at the government middle school polling booth in Konar, Kargahar Assembly constituency, Rohtas district, with EPIC number IUI3123718.

The Kargahar electoral officer’s notice states:

“As per Section 17 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, no person shall be registered as a voter in more than one constituency. Hence, you must present your side within three days regarding being listed in more than one constituency.”

Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), which is contesting the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections independently, found itself on the defensive as ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders questioned his motives.

JDU spokesperson and MLC Neeraj Kumar launched a sharp attack, saying,

“We can understand his name being in Bihar, his home state, but why is it in Bengal that too at the TMC office address? Was he expecting a Rajya Sabha seat from Mamata Banerjee?”

He went on to allege that Kishor’s dual registration was a deliberate act, comparing it to “illegal attempts by outsiders to gain Indian identity.”

BJP leader Amit Malviya also targeted Kishor, claiming the issue would have caused a bigger uproar “if his party had any real presence in Bihar,” and accused opposition parties of “vote theft.”

Meanwhile, the Jan Suraaj Party defended Kishor, saying he had long ago applied to have his Bhabanipur voter registration cancelled after finishing his professional work in West Bengal, where his firm I-PAC had strategized for the TMC in the 2021 Assembly elections.

“Kishor got registered while working in Bengal, but later sought deletion of his name. The EC’s failure to act on his application is being used politically,” said JSP media in-charge Obaidur Rahman.

Notably, the Election Commission has acknowledged multiple voter registrations as a recurring issue and recently launched a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The exercise led to the deletion of 68.66 lakh duplicate or invalid voters, including around seven lakh cases of individuals registered at more than one location.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar