The ECI has been collecting Aadhaar numbers of voters who voluntarily offered it since the amendment of the Representation of the People Act in 1951 to 2021. The two data points have not been linked yet.
According to media reports, the major aim of the drive is to identify and remove duplicate voter registrations to avoid errors in electoral rolls.
According to an Indian Express report, the scheduled meeting is coming in the wake of complaints raised by the Trinamool Congress regarding duplicate Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers in West Bengal and other states. The ECI acknowledged that some state electoral officers mistakenly issued duplicate numbers due to errors in the alphanumeric series.
The report stated that to address these concerns, the poll body recently announced that electors with duplicate EPIC numbers would be issued new, unique numbers within three months. The IE report also clarified that duplicate EPIC numbers do not indicate the presence of fake voters and that individuals can only vote in their designated constituencies.
As per an ANI report, a Trinamool Congress delegation met EC officials in Kolkata on March 6 and urged the officials to resolve the discrepancies. The issue was further raised in Parliament on March 10. During the discussion, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi called for a discussion on voter lists, citing concerns across multiple states.
ANI quoted Rahul Gandhi saying that questions about voter lists are being raised in every state. He said the opposition is simply seeking a discussion on the matter.
As a part of its drive to rectify electoral imbalances, the EC has sought suggestions from all state and national political parties by April 30. These suggestions are likely to bring to the fore issues at the Electoral Registration Officers (ERO), District Election Officers (DEO), and Chief Electoral Officers (CEO) levels.
The commission also reiterated that electors would be permitted to cast their votes only at their respective polling stations despite any EPIC number mismatch. In earlier updates of electoral rolls, states were instructed to correct all mistakes in voter identity cards.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
