New Delhi:
Before next year’s assembly elections in West Bengal, politics has intensified regarding ‘fake voter’ in the state. The BJP has described the allegations of disturbances in the voter list of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The BJP targeted Mamata Banerjee and said that the allegations against the Election Commission are false. The allegations of disturbances in the voter list are also false. Mamta Banerjee is making false allegations in view of the defeat in the year 2026. At the same time, the Election Commission of India has also clarified today that duplication in EPIC number means “there is no duplicate/fake voter.”
What did the Election Commission say?
The Election Commission said on Sunday that the same number does not mean that they are fake voters. The Election Commission also said that voter photo identity card (EPIC) numbers of some voters may be “equal” but other details including demographic details, assembly constituencies and polling stations are different.
“Whatever the EPIC number is, any voter can cast his vote at his scheduled polling station in his respective constituency in his state or union territory, where he is registered in the voter list.” Apart from this, he cannot vote elsewhere. The Election Commission clarified that before the voter list database of all the states was followed by the ‘ERONET’ platform, some voters of different states and union territories were allotted equal EPIC number due to following “decentralized and manual process”. The Election Commission said that as a result some state chief election officers are using the same EPIC Akshani series and there is a scope for allotment of EPIC numbers to voters in different assembly constituencies in different states.
According to the Election Commission website, “ERONET” helps the election officials to maintain the electoral system by removing the same entries and incorporating voters from one place to another. It said, “To remove any doubt, the Commission has decided that the registered voters should be ensured to allot specific EPIC numbers. Any case of the same EPIC number will be corrected by allotting a specific EPIC number. ”The Election Commission said that the ‘ERONET’ 2.0 forum will be updated for assistance and cooperation in this process.
BJP retaliated
Soon after this statement of the Election Commission, senior BJP leader and the party’s Bengal co-Bhari Amit Malviya said that Banerjee’s “another lie” has collapsed. He said in a post on X, “It is sad that the Chief Minister of Bengal is resorting to wrong information to lay the foundation of his defeat in 2026 and to weaken the trust of voters in the electoral system.”
Another Lie from Mamata Bnerjee about Voter Roll Manipulation Falls Flat. It is a pity that the Bengal Chief Minister is Resorting to Misinformation to Lay the Groundwork for Her Imminent Defeat in 2026 and Weaken Voters’ Confidence in the Electoral System.
Quote:
The election… pic.twitter.com/yl5rsqzlzs
– Amit Malviya (@Amitmalviya) March 2, 2025
Malaviya urged the Election Commission to prioritize the cleanliness of the voter list in Bengal and remove the illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants. He said, “Election Commission to linguistic minorities and Hindu refugees-Matua community (Matua Community) Also included, who have run away from religious harassment and settled in Bengal- should also thwart TMC’s efforts to remove the name of the voter list. “
(Tagstotranslate) BJP Attacks Mamata Bnerjee
