Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has received a letter from the Election Commission (ECI) asking him to submit his “fake” EPIC card for thorough investigation. The letter has been sent by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of the Digha Assembly constituency. Tejashwi has been given a deadline of August 16 to hand over his EPIC card to the ECI.
The ERO added: “From the facts, it appears that the EPIC card number RAB2916120 displayed by you in the press conference is fake. Making and using fake government documents is a legal offence. You are once again requested to submit your seemingly fake EPIC card in the office of the Electoral Registration Officer by 5 p.m. on August 16, 2025,” mentions the letter signed by the ERO.
This comes a day after the young politician said he is getting “a good reply” drafted for the Election Commission (ECI) over the notice he was issued last week for having two EPIC numbers. He also pointed a finger at the Election Commission asking, “Whose lapse is it if two EPIC numbers have been issued in my name?”
Tejashwi Yadav alleges his name is missing from draft electoral rolls
A day after the draft electoral rolls were published on August 1, Tejashwi had hosted a press conference in Patna where he alleged that his name was missing. He claimed his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, presenting an EPIC number, RAB2916120, during the press conference.
“I have received a notice not from the Election Commission but from the Patna district administration. A good reply is being drafted and upon receipt, they would be left with nothing to say. They are trying to fault me for their own mistake. Whose lapse is it if two EPIC numbers have been issued in my name? After all, I have been casting my vote from only one place,” Tejashwi told media in Patna on Thursday.
Tejashwi Yadav’s EPIC number “not officially issued”: Election Commission
The Election Commission refuted this claim, stating Yadav’s name was indeed present in the draft rolls under the EPIC number RAB0456228, which he had also used in his 2020 election affidavit. Reacting to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader’s allegations, the ECI has also sent a notice to him saying that the voter ID which he showed in the press conference on Saturday, claiming that he was not included in the voter list, was “not officially issued”.
The ECI further had asked him to provide the original EPIC card for investigation. The commission stated that Tejashwi Yadav was indeed listed at serial number 416 of polling station number 204 at Patna’s Bihar Animal Sciences University.
“In the context of the subject, it is to be said that on August 2, you organised a press conference and informed the media that your EPIC number is RAB2916120 and, on searching on the official website of the Election Commission of India with the said EPIC number, your name was not found in the draft electoral list and [was] deleted,”.
“During investigation, it was found that your name is mentioned with EPIC number RAB0456228 at polling station number 204, Library building number 416 of Bihar Animal Science University. Even after matching with the database of voter lists of the last several years, the EPIC card number RAB2916120 displayed in the press conference was not found to be issued by the Election Commission of India,” the ERO’s letter to Tejashwi further mentions.