NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Saket Gokhale on Tuesday countered the Election Commission of India (ECI )’s claims, accusing the poll body of “covering up” the alleged voter list fraud instead of accepting it.
The Rajya Sabha MP claimed the ECI was attempting to brazen out the irregularities instead of accepting “their blunder on the duplicate voter ID fraud issue”.
Referring to the parts of ECI’s handbook for electoral registration officers, Gokhale alleged that the poll body’s clarification was “false”, which “contradicted their own rules and guidelines.
The TMC leader, in point-by-point rebuttal to the ECI, voiced concern over duplication of Voter IDs, or EPIC. The EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) number is a unique identification number assigned to every registered voter in India by the ECI. It is printed on the Voter ID card and serves as proof of identity during elections.
Gokhle, in a post on X, questioned the ECI’s claim that EPIC with the same numbers were issued to multiple voters due to certain states using the same alphanumeric series.
Citing the poll body’s handbook, the TMC leader said Functional Unique Serial Number (FUSN) are different for every assembly constituency and that it was impossible for voters in two different constituencies, even in the same state, to have the same first three letters in their EPIC.
“EPIC card numbers are an alphanumeric sequence of 3 letters & 7 digits. The ECI handbook CLEARLY states that the 3 letters, known as a Functional Unique Serial Number (FUSN) are different for EVERY Assembly constituency. Therefore, it is IMPOSSIBLE for voters in 2 different assembly constituencies (even in the same state) to have the SAME first 3 letters on their EPIC. How is it then that the same EPIC numbers as voters in West Bengal have been allotted to random people in Haryana, Gujarat, and other states?,” the leader wrote on X.
On the ECI’s second claim that two people with the same EPIC number can only vote in the constituency where they are enrolled, Gokhle said a voter listed in the photo electoral rolls may not be able to vote in the backdrop of the “photo mismatch”.
“In photo electoral rolls, the elector is linked to his photo by the EPIC number. Therefore, when a voter in Bengal goes to cast their vote, their photo on the electoral roll will be DIFFERENT if the same EPIC number has been allotted to a person in another state. This will lead to REFUSAL OF VOTING due to a photo mismatch. By allotting same EPIC numbers in different states, voting can be DENIED to those who are likely to vote for non-BJP parties due to photo mismatch,” the leader said.
Responding to EC’s claim that the same EPIC numbers issued to different people in various [cases] due to duplication of alphanumeric codes didn’t make a difference, Gokhle said that EPIC numbers were linked to detailed of voters with their photo and that it is “impossible” that error lead to multiple allocation of same number.
“ECI rules mandate that the software used for issuing EPIC keeps a track of EVERY used & unused number to ensure that same EPIC is not allotted to multiple people. Also, EPIC number links the details of voters with their photo and it is considered to be a “permanent unique ID” Therefore, it is IMPOSSIBLE that any “error” can lead to same EPIC numbers being allotted to multiple people in different states,” he said.
He claimed that since “EPIC number is linked to voter details, a duplicate EPIC number will lead to denial of voting, calling it a “conspiracy to conduct voter suppression in favor of the BJP”.
“ECI must come clean and disclose how many EPIC cards are currently active and how many of those bear the same number,” he said.
The TMC on Monday also accused the Election Commission of “fraud” and claimed there was “duplication of voter card numbers” in electoral rolls.
TMC MPs Derek O’Brien, Kirti Azad and Sagarika Ghose demanded that EC “accept the error” in 24 hours and assure to rectify the rolls within 100 days, failing which the party would make more documents public on Tuesday to expose the “scam”.
The matter was first highlighted by Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on February 27.