Dual voter IDs: JD(U) questions Prashant Kishore over his name in Bengal electoral rolls

Patna: The Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday flayed Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor for having two voter identity cards, one registered in Bihar and another in West Bengal.

Janata Dal (United) MLC and chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar launched a sharp attack on Kishor, questioning how his name appeared in the voter list of Kolkata’s Kalighat locality, which is associated with the Trinamool Congress.

“Prashant Kishor lectures people on migration from Bihar while being a voter in West Bengal. It is understandable if your name is in the voter list of Bihar, your native place, or even in Delhi, where your business is based, but how can your name be in the Kolkata voter list under the address of TMC?” Neeraj Kumar asked.

Drawing a parallel, he added, “The way Bangladeshi infiltrators obtained Aadhaar cards in Bihar, similarly, Prashant Kishor got himself enrolled in the voter list of Kolkata. He must clarify how this happened.”

According to the details shared by the Election Commission of India (ECI), Kishor’s name is listed in Bihar’s Rohtas district, under Kargahar Assembly constituency (209) and Rohtas Lok Sabha constituency (34) with EPIC number IUI3123718.

Kishor’s another voter ID, IUI686683, appears under the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency (159) and Kolkata South Lok Sabha constituency (23) in West Bengal.

Prashant Kishor has not responded to the row so far.

Kishor, who often criticises the Bihar government on issues like “unemployment and migration”, recently alleged that Bihar’s youth are being forced to leave the state due to the “misplaced priorities” of its leaders.

“People voted for Narendra Modi for a temple – he built it. They voted for Nitish Kumar in the name of caste – he conducted a caste survey. But factories are being built in Gujarat, not Bihar. Bihar’s youth are working there for just Rs 10,000–Rs 12,000 a month,” he had said.

Prashant Kishor is currently campaigning for his party’s candidates across Bihar, but he himself is not contesting the election.

Bihar will go to the polls in two phases, on November 6 and 11, and counting of votes on November 14.

IANS