NEW DELHI: Addressing certain social media posts that suggested electors in two different states were getting the same Voter ID numbers, the Election Commission of India (ECI) dismissed the possibility of duplications. The ECI stating that a person can cast a vote only at their designated polling stations in their respective constituencies.
However, the poll panel in a statement further clarified that the Commission will work to avoid even this duplication by allotting voters unique Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers. The EPIC is the 10-digit voter ID card number issued by the Election Commission of India to each elector.
It said certain social media posts had flagged the issue of electors of two different states having identical EPIC numbers, as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also made similar charges earlier this week.
The Commission in the statement said, “It is clarified that while EPIC numbers of some of the electors may be identical, the other details including demographic details, Assembly Constituency and polling booth are different for the electors with the same EPIC number.”
It went on to add: “Irrespective of the EPIC number, any elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station in their respective Constituency in their State/UT where they are enrolled in the electoral roll and nowhere else.”
The poll panel further said that the allotment of identical EPIC number/series to some electors from different States/UTs was due to “a decentralised and manual mechanism being followed prior to shifting of the electoral roll database of all States/UTs to the ERONET platform”.
It said, “This resulted in certain State/UT CEO offices using the same EPIC alphanumeric series and leaving a scope for the possibility of duplicate EPIC numbers being allotted to electors in different Assembly Constituencies in different States/UTs.”
According to the Commission, the ERONET is an online platform, which was developed for election officials, in multiple languages and scripts, to handle all processes pertaining to registration, migration and deletion of names from the electoral roll.
The ECI, in the statement, however contended that in order to allay any apprehensions, the Commission has decided to ensure allotment of a unique EPIC number to registered electors. “Any case of duplicate EPIC number will be rectified by allotting a unique EPIC number. The ERONET 2.0 platform will be updated to aid and assist in this process,” it added.
The social media posts assumed significance given the claims that a few migrant workers from West Bengal, whose numbers had also been allotted to voters in Gujarat and Haryana.
The West Bengal Chief Minister has also mounted an attack on the ECI over alleged anomalies in the electoral rolls in the state, which is scheduled to go to polls next year.
She had alleged the BJP of appointing several agencies for manipulating the electoral rolls in West Bengal with the blessing of the ECI and cited a few examples of EPIC numbers of people of the state being linked to other people living in Haryana, Gujarat and Punjab.