Prashant Kishor, the poll strategist-turned-politician and founder of Jan Suraaj Party, is facing scrutiny after reports emerged that he is registered as a voter in both Bihar and West Bengal. The revelation comes as his party prepares to contest the Bihar Assembly polls.

According to reports, Kishor is registered as a voter in the Kargahar assembly constituency of Rohtas district in Bihar, which falls under the Sasaram parliamentary constituency. His polling station is listed as Madhya Vidyalay in his ancestral village, Konar. In West Bengal, his address is listed as 121 Kalighat Road, which is the location of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) office in Bhabanipur, the constituency of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. His polling station there is St Helen School on B Ranishankari Lane. Kishor previously worked with the TMC as a political consultant during the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has taken cognizance of the matter and issued a notice to Kishor, seeking an explanation for the dual registration. The Returning Officer of the Kargahar Assembly Constituency has requested Kishor to submit his response within three days, citing a media report highlighting his name in the electoral rolls of both states.

Kishor has responded to the ECI's notice, challenging the commission to arrest him if he has violated any laws. He asserted that his voter details are publicly accessible and questioned the effectiveness of the ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive. "Why send any notice? If there's wrongdoing, then arrest me and prove it," he stated.

A member of Kishor's team, speaking anonymously, stated that Kishor registered as a voter in Bihar after the West Bengal elections and has applied to have his West Bengal voter card cancelled. However, the status of the application remains unclear. Kishor himself has maintained that he has been a registered voter in his village, Konar, since 2019, but acknowledged having a voter ID in Kolkata during his two-year stay there. He questioned why the ECI was conducting the SIR if his name was still enrolled elsewhere.

The Representation of the People Act, 1950, explicitly prohibits a person from being registered as a voter in more than one constituency (Section 17) or more than once in the same constituency (Section 18). Violation of these provisions can result in imprisonment for up to one year, a fine, or both, as per Section 31 of the Act.

This is not the first time that concerns have been raised about Kishor's voter registration in West Bengal. During the last Lok Sabha election, the CPM branch in Bhabanipur reportedly filed an objection. The presence of his address as the TMC office has also drawn scrutiny.

The ECI has cited instances of individuals registering in multiple locations as a reason for conducting the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The exercise has led to the removal of a significant number of electors from draft rolls, including those registered in more than one place. Similar instances of dual voter registration have been reported in the past, including allegations against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha.