EC Issues Notice To Prashant Kishor Over Dual Electoral Roll Entry

Regarding alleged double enrolment as a voter in West Bengal and Bihar, the Election Commission has sent a notice to Prashant Kishor, the founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, requesting an explanation within three days. “As per a news item published on 28.10.2025, your name is registered in the electoral rolls of Bihar and West Bengal…. Therefore, you should present your side within three days regarding the entry of your name in more than one constituency,” reads the notice from the Kargahar Assembly Constituency’s Returning Officer. According to the newspaper report, Prashant Kishor’s name is registered at the polling station in West Bengal under the Bhabanipur constituency and in the 209-Kargahar Legislative Assembly Constituency, the notice said.

Additionally, Section 17 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which forbids registering in more than one constituency, was cited. According to Section 31 of the same Act, breaking this clause might result in a fine, up to a year in jail, or both. “We ask that you make sure that compliance is maintained. As a result, you have three days to provide an explanation for why your name was registered in multiple constituencies,” the notice stated. On November 6 and 11, there will be two rounds of voting for the Bihar Assembly election. Opposition parties strongly criticised the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which was used to update the voter list.

Election officials are taking action to guarantee openness ahead of the next elections, and the notification has garnered attention amid increased scrutiny of Bihar’s voter records. The Election Commission of India (ECI) will carry out the second phase of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across 12 States and Union Territories, with the final voter list scheduled to be published on February 7, 2026, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar announced earlier on Monday. In September, the SIR’s initial phase was carried out in Bihar.

The exercise would encompass the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, CEC Kumar stated during a news briefing in New Delhi. The Election Commission states that an enumeration phase would occur from November to December 4 after printing and training are completed between October 28 and November 3. After the publication of the Draft Electoral Rolls on December 9, there will be a period for claims and objections from December 9 to January 8, 2026. The Final Electoral Rolls will be published on February 7, 2026, while the Notice Phase (for hearing and verification) will run from December 9 to January 31, 2022.

“The second phase of SIR (Special Intensive Revision) is about to be carried out in 12 States and UTs,” said the CEC. However, since Assam has different requirements under the Citizenship Act, additional orders for Special Intensive Revision of the voter list will be issued for the State, according to Kumar. Speaking during a news conference in the nation’s capital, CEC Kumar stated that the Supreme Court-supervised Assamese citizenship verification process is almost over. “Assam has its own provisions under the Citizenship Act of India,” he stated. The process of verifying citizenship there is almost finished, overseen by the Supreme Court. The entire nation was covered by the June 24 SIR order. This would not have applied to Assam in such a situation. Therefore, Assam will receive its own revision orders. The unique citizenship provisions provided by the Assam Accord are outlined in Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955. In accordance with its September 9 order pertaining to the SIR in Bihar, the ECI has included Aadhaar to the list of 12 suggestive papers in response to the Supreme Court’s directives.

(With Inputs From ANI)

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