Notices issued by ECI to Muzaffarpur mayor, relatives over dual EPIC numbers
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Patna: Nirmala Devi, the mayor of Muzaffarpur, and her two brothers-in-law, Manoj Kumar and Dilip Kumar, were served notifications by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday about claims that they had two Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers.
The move comes after Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the opposition, made a public revelation of their names earlier in the day.
In its official statement, the ECI said the three had been found registered at two different polling booths in the 94-Muzaffarpur Assembly Constituency during the draft electoral roll published for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025.
According to the notice, Nirmala Devi’s name appears at Booth No. 153, Sl. No. 664, EPIC No. REM1251917 and Booth No. 257, Sl. No. 618, EPIC No. GSB1835164. Both entries existed even before the current SIR, IANS reported.
Similarly, Manoj Kumar is listed at Booth No. 153, Sl. No. 666, EPIC No. REM1251891 and Booth No. 257, Sl. No. 620, EPIC No. GSB0852996, while Dilip Kumar’s name appears at Booth No. 153, Sl. No. 665, EPIC No. REM1958024 and Booth No. 257, Sl. No. 617, EPIC No. GSB1824440.
All three have been directed to submit their clarifications to the Electoral Registration Officer by 5:00 PM on August 16, 2025, after which further action will be taken.
Earlier in the day, Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Assembly, alleged that the Commission is “robbing votes” at the behest of the BJP.
Citing examples, he claimed that the name of Muzaffarpur Mayor and senior BJP leader Nirmala Devi appears in two separate voter lists within the same constituency, with two different EPIC cards and mismatched ages.
He further alleged that her two brothers-in-law also hold duplicate registrations with separate IDs.
Tejashwi Yadav also pointed out that two EPIC numbers of Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha were raised by the RJD, and then the Election Commission served notice to him.