Now, a mayor in Bihar gets Election Commission notice ‘for 2 voter IDs’

EPIC number is the unique 10-digit number assigned to each voter by the Election Commission of India.

“We have learnt that your name has appeared as a voter in SIR draft roll at booth number 153 and at booth number 257,” the EC’s notice said.

It added, “We have also found that your name had been mentioned as a voter at both booths before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. You are requested to explain your position before 5 pm on August 16 so that we can take further action.”

In a post on X, the Muzaffarpur district magistrate said notice had been issued to Nirmala Devi and two of her relatives “for clarification by the Electoral Registration Officer of Assembly Constituency No. 94 — Muzaffarpur in the matter related to placing names in two polling stations.”

This came hours after Tejashwi alleged at a press conference that the mayor had two voter ID cards. It also comes days after the Election Commission of India issued a notice to Bihar deputy chief minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Kumar Sinha for possessing two voter identity cards.

“While ECI has been targeting our voters by striking off their names from electoral rolls during the ongoing SIR process, it has been giving two voter cards to people having affiliation with the BJP in the same Assembly segment. Muzaffarpur mayor Nirmala Devi, who is closely associated with the BJP and is a prospective candidate in the upcoming Assembly polls, has been issued two voter ID cards,” he alleged.

Devi said she is yet to receive the notice. “Once I receive it, I will respond accordingly,” she told reporters.

This comes at a time when the Election Commission of India’s voter rolls revision exercise has been a subject of controversy. Called Special Intensive Revision, the exercise is aimed at updating electoral rolls, but the Opposition has been protesting against it, claiming it could potentially disenfranchise lakhs of people.