2 constituencies, 2 IDs? Electoral rolls show duplicate entries; EC probes LJP MP Veena Devi & husband Dinesh Singh

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thrusday, issued notices to Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP from Vaishali, Veena Devi, and her husband, Janata Dal (United) MLC Dinesh Prasad Singh, over allegations that both are listed in the electoral rolls of two different assembly constituencies and possess two voter ID cards each.The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of Muzaffarpur Assembly constituency issued the notices after preliminary review of the voter lists dated July 1, 2025. Both have been asked to respond by August 16, 2025, failing which further action may be initiated.This development comes in the wake of leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav’s public allegations. On Wednesday night, Yadav released a press statement and later reiterated via a post on X that Veena Devi holds two EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers — UTO1134543 and GSB1037894 — and is registered as a voter in two different assembly constituencies, Muzaffarpur and Sahebganj.In a separate post on Thursday, Yadav further alleged that her husband, Dinesh Singh, also holds two voter cards in Muzaffarpur district and is similarly enrolled in two different assembly constituencies.Responding to the allegations, Veena Devi said to news agency ANI “My house is in the Paroo block under the Sahibganj constituency. I have been contesting elections since 2001. During nominations, every time I contested an election, my name was listed in the voter list of this area"She added Perhaps my name was included in the voter list of Muzaffarpur at the time of my marriage. At that time, I had submitted an application asking that my name be removed from that list. Now I'm unsure how my name still exists on that list, possibly due to an error by an officer or a Booth Level Officer"The Election Commission, taking cognizance of the claims, has now begun formal inquiry.(With agency inputs)