Double Voter Controversy: Prashant Kishor Listed as Voter in Both Bengal and Bihar, EC Probes Begin

A major controversy has erupted after political strategist and Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor is listed as a voter in both West Bengal and Bihar. According to voter records, Kishor’s Bengal address is registered at 121 Kalighat Road, with his polling booth located at St. Helen’s School on Rani Shankari Lane. Simultaneously, he is also enrolled as a voter in Bihar’s Karakat constituency—his home region.The revelation comes amid Bihar’s extensive Special Summary Revision (SIR) process, which removed nearly 36 lakh duplicate or invalid voter entries. Questions are now being raised about how Kishor’s name remained active in both states despite the rule under Section 17 and 18 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which prohibits registration in more than one constituency.The Election Commission has confirmed that it is seeking official clarification on the matter. Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and opposition parties have criticized the Election Commission, calling the SIR process “flawed and politically motivated.” The Jan Suraaj party claims that Kishor had already applied to cancel his Bengal voter ID, though the status of that request remains unclear. The controversy is expected to spark intense political debate ahead of elections.