Former BJP MP Rakesh Sinha Refutes Double Voting Allegations in Bihar-Delhi Election Controversy

NDTV's Padmaja Joshi and former BJP MP Rakesh Sinha on the voting controversy

New Delhi:

Former BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha mounted a counter attack against political opponents for what he described as an attempt to manufacture controversy where none existed, as the first phase of the two-phase Bihar assembly election concluded on Thursday.

Sinha explained to NDTV's Padmaja Joshi on Thursday that allegations from Opposition leaders claiming some BJP leaders, including himself, had voted in the Delhi assembly election in February before voting in Bihar, were merely attempts to defame him.

The BJP has firmly denied these allegations, which align with the Opposition's narrative about "vote chori (theft)".

"The Congress should inquire about the late Manmohan Singh. He taught at Delhi University but maintained his electoral registration in Assam and became a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam," Sinha stated.

"Regarding my own situation, everyone familiar with my public life knows what I stand for – constitutional values and morality," he added.

"I have been teaching at Delhi University for decades. In parliament, my permanent address is listed as my village in Bihar's Begusarai. On my diplomatic passport, my permanent address remains that same village," the former MP clarified.

When questioned about the central allegation of voting twice, Sinha acknowledged voting in Delhi, but explained that many workers requested his presence in Bihar due to his longstanding connection with the eastern state's politics.

"Following the requests of workers and suggestions from people, I had my name deleted [in Delhi] through procedures established by law," he explained.

When asked if he was certain his name had been removed from Delhi's voter rolls, Sinha confirmed he had contacted the Election Commission to make the necessary changes to enable him to vote in Bihar.

"I wanted to ensure everything proceeded according to regulations and that there would be no constitutional improprieties on my part," he added.

Earlier on Thursday, during the Bihar voting process, Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that certain BJP leaders who had participated in Delhi's February election had also traveled to cast votes in the Bihar polls.

Bharadwaj, who also serves as Delhi's AAP chief, claimed there was a "massive voter fraud" – an accusation that Sinha dismissed as unfounded. The AAP leader employed the same argument that the Congress had used in its "vote chori" criticisms of the BJP.

"The Election Commission had assured that after the SIR, no one registered in another state could vote in Bihar. So how did this occur?" Bharadwaj questioned, referring to the special intensive revision exercise conducted in Bihar before the election.

In the first phase of voting, Bihar recorded its highest-ever turnout, which Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar described as a "victory of democracy".

The turnout by Thursday's end reached 65 percent. In the previous election held during the COVID-19 pandemic, turnout was 57.29 percent. The previous record for highest voter participation in Bihar was established in 2000 at 62.57 percent.

The second phase of voting is scheduled for November 11, with counting to take place on November 14.