Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 2: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday clarified that the presence of identical voter card numbers in different states does not indicate fake or duplicate voters. The clarification comes amid concerns raised over certain electors being issued the same Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers across different states.

The poll panel explained that while some voters may have identical EPIC numbers, their demographic details, Assembly constituency, and polling booth information remain unique.

“Irrespective of the EPIC number, a voter can only cast their vote at the designated polling station in the state or Union Territory where they are enrolled in the electoral roll,” the ECI statement read.

The Election Commission attributed the issue to the earlier decentralised and manual process followed by different states before transitioning to the ERONET platform, a centralised electoral roll management system.

Prior to the implementation of ERONET, state Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) assigned EPIC numbers using alphanumeric series, which, in some cases, led to duplicate numbers being allotted to voters in different states.

To address these concerns, the ECI has now initiated corrective measures to ensure that each registered voter is assigned a unique EPIC number.

“Any case of duplicate EPIC numbers will be rectified, and the ERONET 2.0 platform will be updated to assist in the process,” the Commission stated.

The issue has drawn criticism from opposition leaders. Several Congress members raised concerns, while West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of manipulating electoral rolls by allegedly adding fake voters from Haryana and Gujarat to Bengal’s voter lists with the backing of the Election Commission.

Despite the political uproar, the ECI has assured that no voter can cast multiple votes and that steps are being taken to eliminate any discrepancies in the electoral database.