Expert Prashant Kishor with duplicate Voter enrolments
Expert Prashant Kishor (PK), poll strategist turned politician, has his name enrolled in the voter lists of two states. He has registered himself as a voter in both the Kargahar Assembly constituency in Bihar’s Rohtas district and the Bhabanipur constituency in West Bengal. Surprisingly, the address mentioned by Prashant Kishore in West Bengal is 121 Kalighat Road, the Head Quarters of Trinamool Congress. Can Expert Prashant Kishor like educated person be a duplicate voter? Moreover, Didn’t the poll strategist know that he had to apply through Forms 8/8A? Thus, he has followed the way, which an uneducated or casual person can follow.
So, whatever has happened, it’s simply a show of very unprofessional attitude from a professional like Prashant Kishor.
Hence, the Election commission has issued Notice; A person cannot enroll as a voter in more than one constituency as per Section 17 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Consequently, the notice warns that, if confirmed, dual registration could attract penal consequences, including imprisonment of up to one year, a fine, or both, under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Did Expert Prashant Kishor attempt to carry TMC legacy or he had been the key architect of keeping duplicate voters in TMC as a strategist?
The controversy sparked amid heightened scrutiny of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across Bihar. It is the challenge for the Election Commission to intensify efforts to ensure transparency ahead of the upcoming polls. Reports reveal that the internal process of initial scrutiny has started in West Bengal also.
Jan Suraaj party of Expert Prashant Kishor
Prashant Kishor is now spearheading his own Jan Suraaj party in Bihar, which has significantly stirred the Bihar voters. He has been organizing rallies, mass outreach campaigns for last one year. The You Tube Channels are buzzing about his policies and ideologies for Bihar’s development. With the mission to empower Bihar and unleash its immense potential, he has projected his party as an alternative to NDA and Mahagathbandhan. Expert Prashant Kishor has already retorted that he has applied for removal of name from Bhobanipur. The critics label it as an egregious offence with no justification.
Prashant Kishore’s duplicate enrolments in two separate states have raised acrimonious debate. Kishore had worked as a poll strategist for Trinamul Congress in West Bengal. A person cannot enroll as a voter in more than one constituency as per Section 17 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Critics say, duplicate voter is a quintessential display of Trinamool Strategy.
A political slugfest has erupted between the Jan Suraaj party and all others regarding such blatant act of injustice.
The necessity of SIR
The question extends much beyond Prashant Kishore himself. It raises a larger question in the political horizon and reemphasizes the need of SIR. The names of the deceased individuals and such duplicate enrolments have to be annihilated to conduct a free and fair election process. Ultimately, such examples reinstate the need of Special Intensive Revision.
