Issue of duplication of EPIC numbers resolved, says EC

Logo of the Election Commission of India. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

The Election Commission (EC) connected Tuesday (May 13, 2025) said it has resolved the long-pending occupation of duplication of elector ID paper numbers and issued caller elector photograph individuality cards (EPIC) to those who faced the issue.

The electors photograph individuality paper (EPIC) fig is the 10-digit elector ID paper fig issued by the EC to each elector. The fig is simply a unsocial alphanumeric codification assigned to each registered elector to forestall impersonation.

Opposition allegation

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress main Mamata Banerjee had earlier alleged that aggregate voters successful the State had the aforesaid EPIC number. The Congress excessively had raised the issue.

EC sources said that successful bid to resoluteness the occupation of duplication of numbers, the full database of implicit 99 crore electors was searched by Chief Electoral Officers (CEO) of each the 36 States and Union Territories and electoral registration officers of each the 4,123 Assembly constituencies crossed India successful each the 10.50 lakh polling stations.

It was recovered that connected average, astir 1 elector successful 4 polling stations faced the contented of EPIC fig duplication, the sources added. There are astir 1,000 electors per polling station.

“During the field-level verification, it was recovered that holders of specified akin EPIC numbers were genuine electors successful antithetic Assembly constituencies and antithetic polling stations. All specified electors person since been issued caller EPIC cards with caller numbers,” a elder authoritative of the canvass assemblage told The Hindu.

Flagging the contented of voters with aforesaid EPIC numbers successful West Bengal connected February 27, Ms. Banerjee alleged that the ruling BJP astatine the Centre, “with the blessings of Election Commission of India”, was including voters from different States successful the West Bengal voters’ list.

The EC responded 2 days aboriginal saying that irrespective of the EPIC number, a idiosyncratic tin formed ballot lone erstwhile astatine their designated polling stations successful their respective constituencies successful their States oregon Union Territories. It had said that it would region these duplications and guarantee that each elector gets a unsocial EPIC number. The Trinamool, however, rejected the EC clarification saying it was a “cover-up” and said it was intolerable for voters successful 2 antithetic constituencies to person the aforesaid EPIC number, citing the panel’s ain handbook.

‘Will not interaction results’

The canvass assemblage reiterated connected Tuesday (May 13, 2025) that the genesis of the contented could beryllium traced to 2005, erstwhile assorted States/Union Territories were utilizing Assembly constituency-wise antithetic alphanumeric bid successful a decentralised manner. These bid had to beryllium changed again successful 2008, aft delimitation of the constituencies. During this period, immoderate constituencies erroneously continued to usage either the aged bid oregon utilized the bid allotted to immoderate different constituencies due to the fact that of typographic errors.

Every voter’s sanction is connected the electoral rotation of the polling station, wherever he/she is an mean resident. Having akin EPIC numbers ne'er enabled immoderate specified idiosyncratic to ballot astatine immoderate different polling station. Thus, the contented of duplication of EPIC numbers could not person impacted the results of immoderate elections, it said.

Published - May 13, 2025 11:14 p.m. IST