Did Pawan Khera Really Hold Two Voter IDs as Alleged by Amit Malviya?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Pawan Khera denies allegations of holding two voter IDs.
- The Election Commission faces criticism for poor electoral roll management.
- This incident raises questions about electoral integrity.
- Political tensions between Congress and BJP continue to escalate.
- Calls for transparency in the electoral process are becoming louder.
New Delhi, Sep 2 (NationPress) Following the allegations made by BJP leader Amit Malviya, who claimed that Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera possesses two active voter ID cards in Delhi, Khera firmly rejected any accusations of misconduct. He shifted the focus onto the Election Commission (EC) instead.
In an interview with IANS, Pawan Khera criticized the electoral body for its persistent flaws in updating the voter rolls.
“This is precisely the issue we’ve been highlighting. I relocated from that area in 2016, yet my name was never removed. The electoral roll has undergone 4–5 revisions since then. If you investigate, you’ll discover that it’s been 9 years since I moved. This highlights the inefficacy of the BLOs (Booth Level Officers) during roll updates,” Khera stated.
“Regardless of whether the inquiry comes from Anurag Thakur, Amit Malviya, or the Congress party, everything directs attention back to the Election Commission and its operations. That’s why we in Congress advocate for transparency: Varanasi’s machine-readable voter list, Maharashtra’s booth-specific CCTV footage, none of this has been provided to us. Hence, we term it vote theft,” he elaborated.
Earlier, Amit Malviya had taken to X, asserting that Khera held two active EPIC numbers—XHC1992338 in Jangpura and SJE0755967 in New Delhi, which belong to different assembly segments in Delhi.
Malviya stated, “The Congress party embodies the ultimate vote thief. It has corrupted our electoral system, usurped mandates, and legitimized infiltrators.”
This political conflict arose just a day after Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, intensified the “vote chori (vote theft)” allegation against the BJP, hinting at a “hydrogen bomb” revelation aimed at further uncovering supposed electoral fraud.
Responding to Gandhi's comments, Malviya retorted that the Congress leader loudly proclaimed “Vote Chori” without acknowledging that his mother, Sonia Gandhi, registered in India's voter list before obtaining Indian citizenship. It has now come to light that Pawan Khera, who frequently highlights his closeness to the Gandhis, holds two active EPIC numbers,” Malviya remarked.