Prashant Kishor listed as voter in both Bihar and West Bengal, records show dual registration: Reports

Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has been found listed as a voter in both Bihar and West Bengal, according to election officials. Records show that Kishor is registered in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road — the address of the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata’s Bhabanipur constituency, which is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s seat. His polling booth is identified as St Helen School on B Ranishankari Lane.

Interestingly, Kishor had worked as a political consultant for the Trinamool Congress during the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections. At the same time, he continues to be registered as a voter in the Kargahar Assembly segment under the Sasaram parliamentary constituency in Bihar’s Rohtas district, where his polling station is listed as Madhya Vidyalaya, Konar.

An election official cited Section 17 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which prohibits an individual from being registered as a voter in more than one constituency. Section 18 also bars multiple entries within the same constituency, requiring electors to file Form 8 to update their registration when they change residence.

The Election Commission has acknowledged that duplication of voter entries is a recurring issue, prompting the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country. In Bihar alone, the process led to the removal of nearly 68.66 lakh entries, including about seven lakh cases of voters registered in multiple locations.