New Delhi: The New Delhi District Election Office has served a notice to Congress leader Pawan Khera over allegations that he is on the electoral rolls of two constituencies.
In a post on X, the New Delhi District Election Office wrote, “Notice to Shri Pawan Khera for getting himself registered in the electoral roll of more than one constituency.” A copy of the notice shared along with the X post said that it had been brought to the attention of the Electoral Registration Officer of the New Delhi assembly constituency that Pawan Khera got his name registered in the rolls of more than one seat. The notice listed Khera’s enrolment in the New Delhi and Jangpura assembly constituencies in Delhi.
“As you may be aware, being registered in the electoral roll of more than one constituency is a penal offence under the Representation of the People Act 1950. You are, therefore, directed to show cause as to why action should not be taken against you under the said Act,” the election office’s notice said. It gave Khera five days to respond, with a submission made by 11 am on 8 September.
The notice was issued hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party accused Pawan Khera of holding two voter ID cards.
This comes amid Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s attacks on the Centre and the Election Commission of India (EC) for what he has been calling “vote chori (theft)”—the focus of his recent Voter Adhikar Yatra in poll-bound Bihar.
“Rahul Gandhi screamed ‘vote chori‘ from the rooftops. But just like he forgot to mention that his mother, Sonia Gandhi, enlisted herself in India’s voter list even before becoming an Indian citizen, it has now emerged that Pawan Khera, Congress spokesperson—who never misses a chance to flaunt his proximity to the Gandhis—holds two active EPIC numbers (in Jangpura and New Delhi assembly constituencies, falling under East Delhi and New Delhi Lok Sabha seats, respectively),” BJP’s Amit Malviya said in a post on X Tuesday morning.
Malviya then asserted that it was now for the EC to investigate how Khera held two active EPIC numbers, and “whether he voted multiple times—a clear violation of electoral laws”.
Terming the Congress party as “the quintessential vote chor”, Malviya further wrote, “As if the criminality of holding multiple votes isn’t enough, Pawan Khera is holding malicious press conferences in Bihar to mislead voters, create dissonance, and undermine India’s robust electoral process.”
Responding to the notice, Khera said the action was “yet another confirmation of how the @ECISVEEP (Election Commission of India) functions to support the ruling regime”.
“While our complaints of vote chori are disregarded, the EC rushes to act against Opposition members. Why did the @ECISVEEP not issue a single notice to the 1,00,000 fake voters of Mahadevapura constituency…” he asked in an X post, “…exposed by @RahulGandhi?”
“We will not stop exposing the EC’s wrongdoings in the Bihar SIR and other election processes,” he added.
