EC’s goof-up gives TMC an EPIC chance to push its ‘outsider’ narrative
Even many TMC leaders admit in private that an outsider cannot vote in the state with a card that clearly mentions him as a voter of a different state
The Election Commission’s (EC) much-hyped digitisation switch ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections has left it with egg on its face, handing over the emotive “outsider” narrative to West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.
“Only the residents of West Bengal can vote in the state. It’s absolutely unacceptable that voters from other states will come and vote here with the help of the same Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers they share with some electors of the state,” said TMC leader Derek O’Brien on Monday (March 2), a day after the EC admitted the EPIC cloning.
Also read: West Bengal: Poll panel rubbishes Mamata’s allegations of ‘electoral rolls manipulation’
Grabbing the chance
The digitisation exercise left many voters in West Bengal — particularly in the Assembly constituencies of Raninagar in Murshidabad and Gangarampur in South Dinajpur districts — with the same 10-digit EPIC number as those of voters in some BJP-ruled states like Haryana and Gujarat.
However, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee was quick to interpret the anomaly as an attempt by the BJP to manipulate the Assembly elections in the state, due early next year, with the help of the EC. To prevent the alleged manipulation, she even galvanised her party functionaries to embark on a drive to “cleanse” the electoral rolls.
An example of the duplication of the EPIC number for two voters in different states
EC’s explanation
Amid the drive, the EC on Sunday (March 1) admitted to the allotment of the same EPIC numbers to two voters, attributing it to a technical glitch in the digitisation process. According to the poll panel, it happened “due to a decentralized and manual mechanism being followed prior to shifting of the electoral roll database of all States/UTs to the ERONET platform”.
Also read: Voters' list tactics: Can Mamata expose BJP?
Apparently, the chief electoral offices in certain states and Union Territories used the same EPIC alphanumeric series and left a scope for the duplication of the EPIC numbers in different Assembly constituencies in those states and UTs.
Can this duplication lead to proxy voting?
The poll panel has clarified that this duplication will not lead to proxy voting, as an “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”.
A district magistrate in West Bengal concurred with the EC’s view. “Even a layman can make out who is the resident of West Bengal by looking at the two cards. There is nothing common except for the identical EPIC numbers. The voter’s name, sex, constituency, polling booth number — everything is different as it should be,” he told The Federal, wishing anonymity.
Even many TMC leaders admitted to The Federal in private that it will not be possible for an outsider to vote in the state with a card that clearly mentions him as a voter of a different state.
TMC narrative
However, the issue has given the party an opportunity to create doubts in voters' minds about the efficiency and integrity of the poll panel, whose credibility is at its lowest right now. After TMC, the Congress also accused the EC of being complicit in voter list manipulation.
“The strategy is to weave a narrative that the BJP, with the help of the EC, is trying to bring outsiders to decide the electoral fate of the state,” said Nirmalya Banerjee, a Kolkata-based political commentator.
Also read: After TMC, Cong accuses EC of being ‘complicit in voter list manipulation’
The outsider card
The EC says it switched to the ERONET platform in a bid to “streamline” the voter registration procedure while maintaining the accuracy of voter-related data. The switch facilitated the introduction of the electronic-EPIC or e-EPIC before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The e-EPIC is a non-editable portable PDF version of the photo identity card with a secure QR code. An elector can link it with his/her mobile number.
It is a centralised system and electors can download their cards from the National Voters Services Portal (NVSP) by entering their EPIC numbers.
However, the EC might have never guessed that its high-tech system would allow the TMC to play its same old bohiragoto (outsider) card with a new twist!
