In the legislative council by-election for Bihar’s Tirhut Graduates constituency, an unusual error was discovered in the voter list at a polling booth in Muzaffarpur’s Aurai block. The names of 138 voters, out of a total of 724 at the booth, were recorded with "Munna Kumar" listed as their father’s name. This means nearly one in five voters at the booth had this mistake in their records.

Technical error acknowledged by officials

Officials admitted that this was an "anomaly" in the electoral roll but assured it would not affect the polling process. Tirhut Divisional Commissioner Sarvanan M explained that this issue appeared to be a technical mistake. He said, "None of the voters would be deprived of their right to franchise because of the anomaly, which seems to have been caused by some technical factors. Upon the completion of the by-election process, we will take necessary action."

The by-election took place on Thursday, with 18 candidates running for the seat. These included Abhishek Jha from JD(U), Gopi Kishan from RJD, and Dr. Vinayak Gautam from the Jan Suraaj Party, who is the grandson of former Minister Raghunath Pandey. The election was necessary because JD(U) leader Devesh Chandra Thakur resigned from the seat after becoming the Sitamarhi MP.

Concerns raised by candidates

JD(U)'s candidate Abhishek Jha described the situation as "bizarre," saying, "So many voters, men and women of all age groups and of various religious affiliations, have the same name as the father."

Independent candidate Banshi Dhar Brijwasi said, "I had flagged the discrepancy before the authorities in time, but no action was taken. The voters are worried."

Voting went smoothly despite the error in the voter list. Over 1.5 lakh voters were registered across 197 booths in the Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, and Sheohar districts. Officials have promised to correct the mistake after the by-election is finished