The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: After West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of manipulating electoral rolls in the state and reports and social media posts flagged that identical Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers were found in West Bengal and other states, the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday (March 2) said it will ensure that unique numbers are allotted to registered voters.
“…to allay any apprehensions, the commission has decided to ensure allotment of a unique EPIC number to registered electors. Any case of a duplicate EPIC number will be rectified by allotting a unique EPIC number. The ERONET 2.0 [Electoral Roll Management 2.0] platform will be updated to aid and assist in this process,” the EC said, in a statement, Deccan Herald reported.
The commission explained that while some voters may share the same EPIC number, their demographic details, Assembly constituency, and polling booth information are distinct. The duplicate EPIC numbers resulted from a decentralised and manual mechanism used before the electoral roll database was shifted to the ERONET platform. Due to this reason, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in certain states and Union territories have used the same EPIC alphanumeric series leaving a scope for the possibility of duplicate EPIC numbers being allotted to electors in different Assembly constituencies, the EC said, as per DH.
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“Irrespective of the EPIC number, any 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,” the EC mentioned, underlining the fact that identical numbers would not lead to a voter being able to exercise his franchise in a different state.
However, to ally fears and address this issue, the commission said that it will allot unique EPIC numbers to registered voters, rectifying any duplicate numbers through the updated ERONET 2.0 platform.
On Thursday, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of manipulating electoral rolls and enrolling people from other states as voters in West Bengal with the help of the EC. She has asked her party leaders to identify “ghost voters” within ten days. West Bengal is set to hold Assembly polls next year.
“Ahead of 2026 Assembly elections, fake voters are being smuggled into electoral rolls. But no amount of electoral fraud, no puppet Election Commission, no misuse of central agencies will alter Bengal’s destiny. I call upon my brave soldiers of Trinamool Congress to stay vigilant. A special committee has been set up to monitor every move. If BJP thinks they can steal Bengal, they are in for the fight of their lives,” Banerjee wrote on X.
She added: “This election is a call to arms to protect our culture, our identity, and our unity. It is a battle to uphold the constitutional values that define us, to send a resounding message to Delhi: divisive forces will find no ground in Bengal. Bengal has never bowed to external forces seeking to dictate its destiny. This soil of great martyrs and revolutionaries will deliver a fitting response to the BJP.”