Tejashwi Yadav, senior RJD leader and key figure of Bihar’s opposition Mahagathbandhan, has sparked a political storm by dismissing the Election Commission’s claims about the presence of foreign voters in Bihar, referring to such inputs as "mutra" — a Hindi word for urine — rather than “sutra” (sources).
🔥 Key Highlights of Tejashwi’s Remarks:
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At a press conference on Sunday, Yadav bluntly stated:
“The Commission says they have received sutra (sources). These are not sutra, they are mutra.”
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He criticized the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, launched on June 25, for being opaque, technically flawed, and politically biased.
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Alleged flaws included:
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OTP issues
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Server failures
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BLOs throwing forms away or misusing them (even citing they were being used to sell jalebis)
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No official SOP issued on documentation
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Confusion among voters and booth-level officials
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He alleged that the EC was acting on BJP’s instructions, calling the verification exercise an “eyewash.”
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Warning about disenfranchisement, Yadav claimed:
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Even a 1% exclusion rate would affect nearly 7.9 lakh voters.
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In 52 Bihar Assembly seats, margins were under 5,000 votes, meaning as few as 3,200 voter cuts per seat could impact results.
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Migrants from Bihar, now living in other states, risk unfair exclusion.
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🗳️ Mukesh Sahani Joins In:
VIP party chief Mukesh Sahani, another Mahagathbandhan ally, echoed Yadav’s concerns:
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He claimed to have personally tested the system by submitting a form in his native area while being in Patna.
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Called the process “vote-ban,” comparing it to demonetisation.
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Urged the EC to protect the rights of poor and marginalised voters.
📜 Background: The EC’s SIR Drive
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Launched to verify citizenship status of 7.8 crore voters in Bihar.
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77,000 BLOs and officials are involved in the door-to-door verification process.
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Triggered by “intelligence inputs” that foreign nationals — from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar — are registered as voters in border and migrant-heavy districts.
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The final revised roll will be published on September 30.
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The EC has hinted at similar drives in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry.
📽️ Tejashwi Doubles Down
When a journalist challenged Yadav, citing “sources” about foreign nationals on the voter list, he retorted again:
“We consider such sources as mutra. There is no basis for it.”
He later posted a clip of the interaction on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, intensifying the political drama.
🔎 Political Implications:
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Yadav’s strong language underscores deep opposition mistrust of the Election Commission, especially ahead of 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
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It raises concerns about the transparency and fairness of voter roll revision in politically sensitive states.
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Allegations of foreign voters could become a polarizing issue — especially in border districts and areas with high migrant populations.
This escalating face-off between the Mahagathbandhan and the Election Commission is likely to gain national attention, especially as similar voter verification drives expand to other opposition-led states in the coming months.
