The Election Commission of India on Sunday categorically said duplication in Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) does not imply duplicate or fake voters.
Photo: Election Commission of India (photo:Facebook)
The Election Commission of India on Sunday categorically said duplication in Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) does not imply duplicate or fake voters.
The poll panel made the statement while taking cognizance of certain social media posts and media reports flagging the issue of electors of two different states having identical EPIC numbers.
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In a statement in this regard, the ECI stated 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.
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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, it said.
The ECI said 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.
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, it said.
The poll panel, however, said to allay any apprehensions, it 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, it said.
The ECI said the ERONET 2.0 platform will be updated to aid and assist in this process.
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