EC: Duplicate voter I-card numbers issue to be addressed in 3 months

TMC submits notice in Parliament to discuss EPIC number duplication issue

- SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

Amid allegations of a cover-up over duplicate voter identity card numbers, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday sought to defuse the controversy by assuring that it will address the "decades-long" matter in the next three months.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) flagged the issue of duplicate voter identity card numbers in different states and accused the Election Commission of a cover-up.

TMC MP Saket Gokhale said the Election Commission has finally admitted and accepted their guilt that duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers have been allotted to multiple people. "This is a scam and answers must be given," he posted on X.

In a statement, the poll body said India's electoral rolls are the biggest database of electors across the globe with over 99 crore registered voters.

"As regards the issue of duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Card numbers, the Commission has already taken cognisance of the matter. Irrespective of an EPIC number, an elector who is linked to the electoral roll of a particular polling station can cast his vote at that polling station only and nowhere else," it asserted.