Is Your Voter ID Unique? EPIC Numbers Shared Across States Raise Serious Questions
Systemic Oversight or Targeted Action? Migrant workers from Bengal uncover duplicate voter IDs shared with individuals in Gujarat and Haryana, sparking alarm. Activists link this to the harassment of Bengali-speaking workers under false infiltration narratives. The issue exposes vulnerabilities in India’s electoral system, raising questions about fairness and accountability
Kolkata: Check your EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers; they might have been issued to someone else in the country!
It means that, as claimed by the Election Commission of India, your EPIC number is no longer unique. An EPIC number is a 10-digit ‘unique’ identification number assigned by the ECI to each registered voter.
However, Parijayee Shramik Aikya Mancha, working for migrant workers, has found that several EPIC numbers were issued to two persons. We are mentioning three of them here: EPIC Number LPZ2746576 belongs to Sahin Alam from South Dinajpur, West Bengal, and Aiyub Pathan from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Similarly, two voters have been assigned EPIC Number LPZ2746790 — Taslim Mia from South Dinajpur, West Bengal, and Jignesh Makvana from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Another EPIC Number, XYZ0997544, was issued to Golam Masum from the Murshidabad District, 63 Raninagar Assembly, along with Rimpi Bilash from Haryana, 4 Hisar Lok Sabha, and 51 Barwala Assembly.
“Our Mancha member Md Asif first came across this issue. When he informed me, we checked several migrant workers’ EPIC numbers, and to our shock, we found that there are several such cases,” Md Ripon, state president of PSAM, told eNewsroom.
“It is now well known that across the country, migrant workers from Bengal are termed ghuspethias (infiltrators) or Rohingyas. No official record suggests that any infiltration is taking place from Bangladesh or Myanmar, but poor, Bengali-speaking people are being killed or tortured. The one EPIC number for two people is another episode in this regard. By doing this, any migrant worker can be falsely implicated in an economic or criminal case committed by someone else.”
The Mancha has written to the Chief Election Commissioner of West Bengal on December 27 and is waiting for a reply. It has also written to Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
A voter from Murshidabad, whose name is associated with two EPIC numbers, has expressed concern and written to Murshidabad’s District Magistrate, who also happens to be the Returning Officer, requesting action on this issue.
Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha member Samirul Islam spoke to media persons about the issue and expressed similar apprehensions. “This is not good for any voter and can have serious implications. I have talked to several officials and am waiting for the Election Commission’s verification before taking further action.”
Ripon believes that this issue may not be limited to Bengali migrant workers but could affect voters across the country. “Because we have 2.46 lakhs registered workers, whenever we identify such issues, we cross-check a few. However, as India is the largest democracy, with a huge number of voters, this problem could affect anyone, anywhere.”
The state president of PSAM has also released a video message to the voters to check their Epic numbers. To get to know whether your number has been issued to some other person, there is no need to mention the state in the select your state column just mention your number and fill captcha.
In recent elections, India’s opposition parties have raised serious concerns on Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)s and especially about the significant increase in voting percentages after polling ends. Some political observers believe that one EPIC number being issued to two voters could be easily connected to the increased voting percentage. However, political parties have yet to wake up to this shocking revelation about voters’ unique identities.
This is a developing story, and updates will be provided once the ECI responds to the issue.
