Notice issued to Kishor over name in voter lists of Bihar, Bengal
Patna/Kolkata (PTI): Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor was on Tuesday served with a notice over his name being reportedly registered as a voter in his home state Bihar, as well as adjoining West Bengal.
However, the former political strategist stuck to his guns, asserting that the onus was on EC, which "claims to have purified electoral rolls in Bihar through SIR", to have done the needful in his case.
The notice has been issued by the district election office in Rohtas district of Bihar, where Kishor has been registered as a voter in Kargahar assembly segment. He has been asked to respond within three days.
According to official records, Kishor is enrolled as a voter in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road, the address of the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which is Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's seat, an election official in West Bengal said.
"His polling station is listed as St Helen School on B Ranishankari Lane," the official added.
During the 2021 assembly elections in West Bengal, Kishor had worked as a political consultant for the TMC
In case of a change of address, a person must apply for inclusion of his name in the new place after filling up Form 8, which is a declaration that he has shifted base and consents to deletion from the voters' list at the earlier place of residence.
The notice issued by DEO, Rohtas, from the district headquarters of Sasaram, has cited a report published in a leading English daily, which has pointed out the anomaly in the case of Kishor.
The notice points out that "Section 31 of the Representation of People Act" prohibits a person from having his name enrolled as a voter at more than one place, and that violation of the provision was "punishable with imprisonment for one year, or fine, or both".
However, Kishor, who was away in Araria district for assembly poll campaign, remained defiant.
Speaking to reporters, he said, "I have been a voter in Kargahar since 2019. Since I lived in Kolkata for a couple of years, I got enrolled as a voter there as well. The EC has bragged about purifying the electoral rolls in Bihar during SIR. Why did it not delete my name from one of the places?"
Indirectly charging the EC with acting at the behest of the BJP, which rules the Centre, Kishor said, "The Election Commission cannot bully me through its notice. Nor can the BJP, which is watching its leaders cower after their wrongdoings were exposed by me. The party is in power in Bihar as well as at the Centre. I challenge it to try all the aces up its sleeve."
Meanwhile, the ruling NDA as well as the opposition INDIA bloc in Bihar, where Kishor's foray into electoral politics has vexed both rival formations, latched on to the opportunity.
Neeraj Kumar, MLC and spokesperson of JD(U), which is headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, told PTI, "It is amusing that Prashant Kishor, who has all his establishments in Delhi, and hails from Bihar, chose to get registered as a voter in West Bengal. Since when did becoming a poll strategist necessitate your being a voter in the state you are providing your services?"
The JD(U) leader added, "We suspect Kishor had tried to strike a deal with Banerjee, that after her victory in the 2021 polls, she would get him elected to the Rajya Sabha. To become a member of the Upper House in Parliament he needed to be a resident of the state concerned. But the Trinamool Congress chief must have snubbed him after returning as the chief minister. So, in a sulk, he might have staged the drama of retiring from the consultancy business."
Notably, after Banerjee retained power in the last assembly polls with a thumping majority, Kishor had announced that he was hanging his boots as a political strategist.
A few months later, he launched a campaign 'Baat Bihar Ki', which got shelved after he was dragged into an Intellectual Property Rights case.
He made a comeback in 2022, when he launched a 3,500-km-long padayatra, naming his campaign 'Jan Suraaj', which culminated in the formation of a party last year.
State BJP spokesperson Neeraj Kumar came out with a strongly worded statement, accusing Kishor of "no minor oversight, but a heinous crime" and suspected that the Jan Suraaj Party founder was involved "in a vile conspiracy with the ruling TMC in West Bengal to undermine Bihar elections".
The BJP leader urged the Election Commission to launch an "immediate and rigorous investigation" against Kishor, whom he counted as among "political brokers and deal makers who trample upon democracy in their hunger for power".
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said, "The episode completely exposes the farce that the SIR has been in Bihar, and which is now being carried across the country. Several instances of names of leaders belonging to the ruling NDA, registered as voters at more than one place, have come to the fore."
"Now, Prashant Kishor, whom we suspect of working, clandestinely, for the BJP-led coalition, has joined the list. Let him come forth with an explanation," he added.
The EC has acknowledged that duplication of voter entries is a recurring issue and cited it as one reason for launching the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls throughout the country.
The SIR, which started in Bihar, was completed with the publication of updated rolls on September 30, resulting in the removal of about 68.66 lakh entries, including roughly seven lakh cases of voters registered in multiple places.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
