The Election Commission of India (ECI) has requested Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav to submit his voter ID card for investigation amidst a controversy surrounding his EPIC (Electoral Photo Identity Card) number. This development follows Yadav's claim that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls published after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, had displayed an EPIC number (RAB2916120) at a press conference, alleging that when he searched for his details on the Election Commission's portal using this number, no records were found. However, the ECI refuted this claim, stating that his name is present in the draft voter list with EPIC number RAB0456228, which he used in his nomination papers during the 2020 elections.

The ECI has now stated that the EPIC number Yadav presented at the press conference was "not issued officially". The Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Patna Sadar, who also serves as the Electoral Registration Officer for the Digha assembly constituency, has written to Yadav requesting him to hand over the EPIC card in original for detailed investigation.

Sources within the ECI have indicated that the second EPIC number (RAB2916120) "has been found to be non-existing" after checking records going back more than ten years. They added that it is "highly likely that the second EPIC was never made through an official channel" and that further inquiries are underway to understand the reality of the second EPIC number and whether it is a forged document. The poll body has launched a probe to ascertain whether the card in question was forged.

The BJP has accused RJD of electoral roll tampering in Bihar, alleging Yadav possesses multiple voter IDs. BJP leader Sambit Patra questioned how Yadav could have two EPIC numbers and hinted at a larger conspiracy by the RJD to tamper with electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming assembly election. Patra also claimed that the ECI's exercise to sanitize the electoral roll in the state has "exposed the whole game" of the RJD.

Responding to the allegations, Yadav's party has stated that there is no possibility of changing the EPIC number. However, the ECI's investigation is ongoing, and the poll body has asked Yadav to submit the "unofficial" EPIC card for further scrutiny. The ECI maintains that Yadav's name is included in the draft voter list at serial number 416. Patna District Magistrate Dr. Thiyagarajan SM, clarified that Yadav's EPIC number is RAB0456228, which is the same number he mentioned in the affidavit submitted during the 2020 Bihar Assembly Elections. The district administration also claimed that the same EPIC number was mentioned in electoral rolls in 2015.