Patna Administration Clarifies Double Ink On LJP MP Shambhavi Chaudhary’s Fingers, Rejects Fraud Allegations

The Patna District Administration on Saturday said that the double ink marks visible on the fingers of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Shambhavi Chaudhary were the result of a polling staff error and not evidence of double voting, after a video of the marks circulated on social media.

In a post on X, the Patna District Administration said polling staff mistakenly applied ink to Chaudhary’s right hand and, following intervention by the presiding officer, ink was also applied to her left hand. The administration added that Chaudhary cast her vote only at Serial No. 275 of the voter list at Polling Station No. 61, Sant Paul’s Primary School, Buddha Colony (Northern Room of the Main Section) of the 182-Bankipur Assembly Constituency.

“A video is being circulated on social media regarding ink marks on both fingers of the Honorable MP Smt. Shambhavi after casting her vote. In this connection, inquiries were made from the Presiding Officer of Polling Station No. 61, Sant Paul's Primary School, Buddha Colony (Northern Room of the Main Section) of 182-Bankipur Assembly Constituency. He has clarified that the polling staff responsible for applying ink had mistakenly applied it to the finger of the right hand. After the intervention of the Presiding Officer, ink was also applied to the finger of the left hand. It is being clarified that the Honorable MP Smt. Shambhavi cast her vote only at Serial No. 275 of the voter list of Polling Station No. 61, Sant Paul's Primary School, Buddha Colony (Northern Room of the Main Section) of 182-Bankipur Assembly Constituency,” said Patna District Administration.

The clarification followed allegations from the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Kanchana Yadav, the RJD national spokesperson, posted on X that the presence of ink on both hands implied Chaudhary had voted twice and questioned who would investigate. “This is a whole different level of fraud going on. These are LJP MP Shambhavi Chaudhary Chaudhary. Ink is applied on both hands. Meaning, they voted twice. When this matter came to light, their father Ashok Chaudhary is signaling them with eye gestures. Election Commission, how is all this happening? Who will investigate this?,” wrote Yadav in X.

The incident occurred during the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections on 6 November 2025, which the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar said saw a turnout of 65.08 per cent across 121 seats in 18 districts. The CEO said this represented an increase in voter participation compared with previous polls, 57.29 per cent in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections and 56.28 per cent in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, an increase of 7.79 percentage points and 8.8 percentage points respectively.

The contest features the National Democratic Alliance, comprising the BJP, JD(U), HAMS, LJP (RV) and others, seeking a second term, while the Mahagathbandhan of Congress, RJD, left parties and VIP aims to return to power. The Jan Suraaj party is contesting more than 200 seats independently.

The elections followed a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, an exercise that drew strong reservations from opposition parties. The SIR is also due to be carried out in other states and union territories.