Election Commission mandates Aadhaar linking amid voter list row

Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed officials to make “all attempts” to link Aadhaar numbers with electoral roll data, according to a note circulated to Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) in all states and Union Territories, the Hindustan Times has learnt.

The instruction was included in a document titled “opening remarks of CEC (chief election commissioner) (at) the CEOs conference March 4,” which was later distributed to all CEOs, who were then asked to circulate it among district election officers.

The note quoted chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as saying: “In order to ensure proper identification of electors and ensure necessary communication, all attempts should be made to link with Aadhaar and mobile numbers.” Kumar described elections as the “first step” towards “national service” and said the ECI would “leave no stone unturned” to fulfil its constitutional obligations. He also instructed officials to ensure regular updates of the electoral roll in “close coordination with birth and death registration authorities.”

The CEC further directed that while “conducting door to door surveys,” all booth level officers should ensure that Indian citizens above 18 years of age are “invariably enrolled as electors” in accordance with Constitution.

However, the directive appears to contradict the ECI’s previous position that Aadhaar linking is not mandatory. The Commission had made this submission to the Supreme Court, which was hearing a case related to a 2022 amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

Law minister Kiren Rijiju previously informed Parliament that under rule 26B of the registration of electors (amendment) rules, 2022, a person listed in the electoral roll “may intimate his Aadhaar number” to the registration officer using Form 6B.

Rijiju emphasised that providing Aadhaar was “optional” and electors without an Aadhaar number could “provide other optional documents as provided in the Form 6B.” He noted that the government had set 1 April, 2023, as the date on or before which people included in the electoral roll “may” share their Aadhaar numbers.

The matter was then heard by a Supreme Court bench led by then Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, in response to a petition from G Niranjan, a senior Congress leader from Telangana, who sought amendments to the ECI’s application form. During those proceedings, the ECI stated that Aadhaar was not mandatory and that it was considering “appropriate clarificatory changes” to enrolment forms to reflect this position.

Despite these statements, the forms have remained unchanged since the 2022 amendments were notified. Sources familiar with the matter said linking Aadhaar to the electoral roll “would pave the way for removal of multiple Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers with the same elector,” an issue that has reportedly “bothered” the ECI for some time. The sanctity of voter rolls and registration has become a talking point since West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress accused the ECI of voter manipulation and fraud through duplicate EPICs. The Commission denied these allegations, stating that duplicate EPICs did not constitute voter fraud, and subsequently directed all CEOs to quickly resolve duplication issues.

An ECI official who asked not to be named said there are two types of “repeat EPIC discrepancies.” The first—”multiple electors with the same EPIC number”—can be resolved within three months by issuing unique identifiers.

However, the official expressed concern about the second category: “multiple EPIC numbers issued to the same elector.” This presents a greater challenge because “we cannot mandatorily enforce Aadhaar for smoothening the process,” the official said.

The official further explained the complications that arise when voters relocate: “If a person has temporarily shifted from one state to another, deletion of earlier EPIC number is cumbersome and politically sensitive issue. A form has to be generated and sent from the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of one state to the ERO of a different state, who then again needs to do ground verification to ascertain the facts.”

“This is a time taking process, and a politically sensitive issue,” the official added. “If the elector turns up on the day of election in his home state, the deletion of his name would cause trouble for the government servant.”

Three political parties submitted memorandums to ECI seeking transparency in cleaning up the electoral roll and eliminating duplicate Elector Photo Identity Card numbers. Separately, ECI also asked all parties to “give suggestions on any unresolved issues” at various levels by April 30. TMC’s memorandum raised the issue of duplicate EPIC numbers across states that remained “unaddressed by the Commission for years” until it was raised by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

However, Bengal BJP in-charge Amit Malviya said, “Over last 14 years, CM Mamata Banerjee and her government have infiltrated the electoral roll with illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas…we have emphasised on electoral roll audit.” A BJD team from Odisha also submitted a memorandum on similar lines.