Election Commission calls high-level meeting on Aadhaar-Voter ID linking
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Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has scheduled a crucial meeting with top government officials and the head of the Aadhaar authority to discuss linking Aadhaar with voter ID cards, sources revealed.
The discussion, set for Tuesday, aims to tackle the long-standing issue of duplicate voter IDs, which has been a subject of political debate.
The Election Commission’s move comes in response to allegations from the Opposition regarding widespread duplication of voter identity cards, known as EPIC (Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card). Sources indicate that Kumar, who has been in office for less than a month, is taking decisive steps to resolve electoral issues that have remained unresolved for decades.
The Commission is reportedly working towards eliminating duplicate voter IDs within the next three months. To facilitate this, meetings with electoral registration officers (EROs), district election officers (DEOs), and chief electoral officers (CEOs) will be conducted by March 31. Additionally, national and state political parties will be invited to submit suggestions within the legal framework by April 30 - a consultative approach that sources say has not been undertaken in decades.
As part of the initiative, booth-level agents, polling agents, counting agents, and election agents will receive formal training on their responsibilities under the legal framework for the first time. The Election Commission maintains that every Indian citizen above 18 years of age should have the right to vote and believes that linking Aadhaar to EPIC is a step towards ensuring a cleaner electoral roll.
The move has sparked criticism, particularly from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has accused the Election Commission of manipulating voter rolls to benefit the ruling party. Party leader Sagarika Ghose dismissed the latest efforts as a mere "face-saving measure," questioning the timing of the discussion and previous statements made by the Election Commission.
On March 11, a 10-member TMC delegation met with the Election Commission, raising concerns about identical EPIC numbers being issued to voters across different states. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier flagged the issue on February 27, demanding transparency in the electoral roll management process.
In a statement issued on March 2, the Election Commission acknowledged that duplicate EPIC numbers existed due to the decentralised and manual mechanisms used before states transitioned to the ERONET (Electoral Roll Management) platform. The Commission clarified that while some voters may have identical EPIC numbers, their demographic details, polling stations, and constituencies remain distinct.
The government has reiterated that linking Aadhaar with voter IDs remains voluntary and that citizens who choose not to link the two will not be removed from the electoral rolls. It also emphasised that the process is being carried out in a systematic manner, without any rigid targets or deadlines.