The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a notice to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav regarding discrepancies related to his voter identification. The notice follows Yadav's claim that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls published in Bihar. The ECI refuted Yadav's claim, asserting that his name is present in the draft voter list.

The controversy began when Yadav claimed his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls. The ECI responded by providing an extract from the draft roll where his name was listed. The ECI stated that Yadav's name is listed at serial number 416 of polling station number 204.

Confusion arose when Yadav cited a different EPIC (Electoral Photo Identity Card) number than the one the poll body had on record. Yadav claimed he voted in the last Lok Sabha election using a voter ID with the number RAB2916120, which he said was now missing from the draft rolls. However, the EC list shows the EPIC number to be RAB0456228. ECI sources stated that the EPIC ID RAB2916120 does not exist in their records.

The ECI has requested Yadav to provide details and the original copy of the EPIC card with the number he mentioned in the press conference (RAB2916120) for investigation. The poll panel has said that preliminary investigation suggests that EPIC number RAB2916120 does not appear to be officially issued.

The BJP has accused Yadav of committing a crime by possessing two voter IDs. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed that the voter ID Yadav submitted in his 2020 poll affidavit was different from the one he mentioned to claim his name was missing from the electoral rolls. Patra alleged that Yadav was trying to mislead the EC and voters. The BJP also suggested that RJD members might be casting votes at two places to inflate support for their party.

EC sources have indicated that the EPIC number Yadav presented (RAB 2916120) does not exist in official records and that the second EPIC voter ID may be fake. They also reviewed Yadav's 2020 election affidavit for Raghupur, which confirms his name was on the voter list with a different EPIC number: RAB 0456228. That affidavit listed his polling booth as number 160 and his serial number as 511, matching the official 2020 voter roll.

The Election Commission has stated that Yadav used EPIC No. RAB0456228 for filing his nomination papers on affidavit in the 2020 Assembly polls and was listed with this EPIC number even in the 2015 electoral roll.

The controversy has intensified the conflict between Yadav and the Election Commission. The ECI has refuted Yadav's claims as baseless. Sources suggest that an FIR could be registered against Yadav if he is found to be in possession of two voter ID cards.