Prashant Kishor in trouble over voter IDs; ECI issues notice
What's the story
Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor is reportedly registered as a voter in both West Bengal and Bihar. According to the Indian Express, Kishor's West Bengal address is 121 Kalighat Road, Bhabanipur, a location that also serves as the Trinamool Congress office. This area falls under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's assembly constituency. He had worked with the TMC as a political consultant during the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls.
Bihar registration
Kishor's paternal village is in Bihar
On the other hand, in Bihar, Kishor is registered as a voter in the Kargahar assembly constituency of the Sasaram parliamentary constituency. His polling station there is Madhya Vidyalay, Konar, which is his paternal village. A senior member of Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) team told the Indian Express that he became a voter in Bihar after the West Bengal elections.
Cancelation application
Kishor has applied for cancelation of Bengal voter ID
Sources close to Kishor said he has applied for the cancellation of his Bengal voter card, according to Livemint. However, the status of this application remains unclear as neither Kishor nor Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal has commented on it. The Election Commission of India (ECI) prohibits a person from being registered as a voter in more than one constituency under Section 17 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Multiple entries are forbidden under Section 18
Repeated entries
ECI to conduct special intensive revision in 12 states
The ECI has already conducted a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and plans to implement it nationwide soon. The poll body cited "repeated entries in the electoral roll" as one of the reasons for conducting the SIR in Bihar. The ECI had said, "Some electors obtain registration in one place and then shift their residence and register themselves at another place without getting their names deleted from the electoral roll of the initial place of residence."
Nationwide revision
Final list to be published on February 7, 2026
On October 27, the ECI announced the second phase of SIR in 12 states and union territories. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said it will be conducted in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The final list will be published on February 7, 2026.
ECI update
ECI issues notice to Kishor
The ECI has promptly issued a show-cause to Kishor after finding evidence that his name appears on the electoral rolls in both Bihar and West Bengal. He has been asked to submit his explanation within three days regarding how his name came to be registered in two separate state electoral rolls, India Today reported. Kishor asserts that the duplication occurred due to the ECI's negligence, not his own.
Response
Kishor dares ECI
Reacting to ECI's notice, Kishor said, "If my name appears in two voter lists, the Election Commission should explain why my name wasn't deleted when SIR was effected in Bihar. My name has been in Karakat since 2019. I went to Bengal for two years in between, so I was a voter there." "Why is the Election Commission sending a notice? If it's my fault, arrest me," he added.