Prashant Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party and a prominent political strategist, has been found enrolled in the electoral rolls of both Bihar and West Bengal, triggering controversy just before the Bihar Assembly polls scheduled for November 6. In Bihar, Kishor is registered in the Kargahar assembly constituency under the Sasaram parliamentary seat in Rohtas district, with his polling station at Madhya Vidyalay in his ancestral village of Konar. In West Bengal, his voter registration lists his address as 121 Kalighat Road in Bhabanipur—the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s constituency—with the polling station at St. Helen School on B. Ranishankari Lane.

The dual enrollment has raised legal and ethical questions, as the Representation of the People Act, 1950, prohibits a person from being registered in more than one constituency. Kishor had served as a political consultant for the Trinamool Congress during the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, which explains his earlier registration in the state. A senior Jan Suraaj Party leader stated that Kishor applied for deletion of his name from the West Bengal voter list after enrolling in Bihar’s Kargahar constituency. The status of this application remains unclear, and efforts to obtain a direct response from Kishor were unsuccessful.

The Jan Suraaj Party is contesting all 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly elections. Initially expected to field Kishor from Kargahar, the party later considered a contest from Raghopur against Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. However, Kishor ultimately decided not to contest any seat, citing a unanimous party decision to focus on strengthening candidates and expanding the party’s support base. He emphasized his commitment to ensuring victories for Jan Suraaj candidates rather than personal electoral participation.

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Dual voter registration is not unprecedented in Bihar. Former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and current Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha were previously enrolled both in Patna and their respective assembly constituencies before corrections were made. The issue gains significance amid the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which has already removed over 68 lakh names in Bihar, including 7 lakh duplicates. The Commission has not issued an official statement on Kishor’s case.

With the Bihar elections approaching, the controversy risks undermining Jan Suraaj’s narrative of transparency and reform. The party, launched after Kishor’s extensive padyatra across the state, positions itself as an alternative to established alliances. Whether the Election Commission acts on the reported discrepancy or the matter fades into pre-poll rhetoric remains to be seen, but it has undeniably placed Kishor under intense scrutiny at a critical juncture.

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