Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav claimed on Saturday that his name was missing from the Bihar draft electoral rolls released a day earlier by the Election Commission.

The poll panel refuted Yadav’s claims and described them as being “mischievous”, reported ANI.

“His name is listed at serial number 416 in the draft electoral roll,” the news agency quoted the poll panel as stating. “Therefore, any claim stating that his name is not included in the draft electoral roll is false and factually incorrect.”

During a press conference earlier in the day, Yadav, the leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, asked how he could contest the upcoming polls in Bihar if his “name is missing from the electoral rolls”.

He also displayed that entering his Election Photo Identity Card number into the poll panel’s app showed “no records found”. Yadav asked how his wife’s name could be present in the draft voter list when his was missing.

He said that a booth-level officer had visited his home and collected their details during the electoral roll revision process.

The Patna District Administration later shared a screenshot on social media, displaying that Yadav’s name was present in the draft roll.

Patna District Magistrate Thiyagarajan SM called Yadav’s claim “completely wrong”, ANI reported.

“His name is still there at the booth where he used to vote, and it is there in the public domain, everyone can see it,” the news agency quoted the official as saying.

EC withholding crucial details, alleges Yadav

Raising concerns about the deletions of voters during his press conference, Yadav also accused the Election Commission of withholding crucial details.

“Earlier, the EC would disclose how many people had shifted, how many were deceased, and how many had duplicate entries,” he said. “But in the current draft list, they have cleverly removed the address, booth number, and EPIC number of voters. This makes it impossible for us to verify whose names have been deleted.”

The revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar was announced by the Election Commission on June 24.

As part of the exercise, persons whose names were not on the 2003 voter list will need to submit proof of eligibility to vote. This means that 2.9 crore out of the state’s 7.8 crore voters – or about 37% of the electors – will have to submit documentary evidence.

Voters born before July 1, 1987, must show proof of their date and place of birth, while those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, must also submit documents establishing the date and place of birth of one of their parents. Those born after December 2, 2004, will need proof of date of birth for themselves and both parents.

On July 28, the Election Commission said that 91.6% electors in Bihar had submitted their enumeration forms for the special intensive revision of the state’s electoral rolls by the end of the first phase of the exercise on Friday.

The poll panel said that more than 7.2 crore out of the state’s 7.8 crore electors had submitted the forms by the deadline, indicating “overwhelming participation”.

This would mean that the remaining 65 lakh names registered in the July 2025 list would not have made it to the draft rolls.

With the publication of the draft rolls, now the electors have a month to raise claims and objections, during which eligible voters can be added and ineligible names excluded.

During this period, voters who believe their names were wrongly deleted can approach the relevant authorities for redressal.

Also read: Bihar voter roll revision: Why having to prove you are an Indian citizen is a nightmare