The credibility of elections in India depends entirely upon the impartiality and credibility of the Election Commission of India to ensure a level playing field to the political parties and candidates. Opposition parties are being displaced link by 12-digit Aadhaar to Voter ID
On March 10, 2025, Harivansh, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha observed: "The notices of Shri Tiruchi Siva, Shri Sandosh Kumar P, Shri Vaiko, Shri P.P. Suneer and Shri P. Wilson have demanded discussion over the concerns regarding upcoming delimitation exercise to Southern States. The notices of Shri Saket Gokhale, Shrimati Sagarika Ghose, Shri Pramod Tiwari and Shri Ajay Makan have demanded discussion over the alleged lapse of the Election Commission in issuance of multiple duplicate EPIC across the States." EPIC refers to Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers.
Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha refused to allow discussion saying, "Members may recall the detailed rulings of Rule 267 imparted by the hon. Chairman, Rajya Sabha, on 8th December, 2022, and 19th December, 2022....The same have been reiterated by the hon. Chairman a number of times....Since these notices do not conform to the directives imparted by the hon. Chairman, the same are declined."
On March 10, 2015 Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha observed: "Questions are being raised across the country on the voter's list. In every opposition, questions are raised on the voter's list. The entire opposition is just saying that there should be a discussion on the voter's list."
During the Zero Hour discussion in the Lok Sabha, the Leader of Opposition pointed out that voter lists were being "twisted" across the country which undermines electoral democracy. When Om Birla, the Speaker of Lok Sabha asked him whether the government drew out the voter lists. The Leader of Opposition said that while the government may not be drawing the voter lists, questions are being raised about voter lists across the country.
On March 10, 2025, All India Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee raised the issue of large-scale duplication of EPIC voter identity card numbers across states during Zero Hour mention. He informed Lok Sabha, "Madam, the faulty voter list is a serious concern in the country itself. Our Chief Minister first flagged the issue of numerous instances of duplicate voter cards. The explanation given by the Election Commission is clearly a breach of Rule 20 of the Election Conduct Rules itself. These things have been happening for the last few years. Earlier, it was not there. That is why there is an increase in votes. In West Bengal, the voters are coming from Gujarat and Haryana. This is not tolerable. The Election Commission all the time says that they are conducting elections in a transparent and fair manner. It is clear that there had been no transparent elections in the last few years. There had been no fair elections in the last few years, not at all. The Election Commission has not acted properly, and appropriate proceedings should be brought against the for that reason."
On March 10, 2025, All India Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Sougata Ray raised the issue of large-scale duplication of EPIC voter identity card numbers across states during Zero Hour mention. He informed Lok Sabha, "Sir, with your permission, I would like to raise the matter of false voter lists all over India, which has been pointed out by our Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. In her recent speech, Ms. Mamata Banerjee showed the papers where it was seen that the same EPIC numbers had voters both in Bengal and Haryana. In Bengal, it was in the district of Murshidabad. Again, she showed voter cards which had same EPIC numbers in Bardhaman and in Haryana. This shows that all is not well in the state of Denmark. There are some serious flaws. This has been pointed out earlier with regard to Maharashtra voter list which had an inflated voter list. This was pointed out in the list of Haryana. Now, they are preparing to jump on Bengal and Assam also which have elections next year. Sir, with your permission, I demand that the total voter list should be thoroughly revised and the Election Commission should answer to the country why such mistakes have occurred in the voter list. They have informed our Party that they will let us know within three months. We shall meet on behalf of the Party. Our people will meet the newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner, who was earlier Secretary of the Cooperation Ministry under Mr. Amit Shah. We hope that he replies properly. Our agitation on this point will continue.…You know that the Election Commission is under the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs. He informed the Speaker, Lok Sabha that the Election Commission is under the government. It implies that it has a role in the preparation of the voter list.
On March 11, 2025, All India Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose raised serious questions the following questions that Election Commission of India cannot ignore: How many duplicate Voter ID cards exist?, If there are changes in the electoral roll, why hasn’t a separate roll been published?, Why is there no action despite credible evidence of Aadhaar cards being cloned for fake voter registrations?
On March 11, 2025, All India Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Kirti Azad said, "In just three months, Maharashtra saw 40 lakh new voters added ahead of the elections. How is that even possible? EPIC numbers, meant to be unique, are now linked to multiple individuals. Even Aadhaar cards are being cloned! And now, @ECISVEEP wants 90 days to investigate. Does that mean they already know the scale of this fraud? How many fake cards exist? Who is behind this massive electoral malpractice?"
Kirti Azad referring to the Press Note dated March 7, 2025 issued by the Election Commission of India entitled "Commission to address decades long issue of duplicate EPIC numbers within next 3 months" The note reads: "Electoral Roll updation takes place under DEO & ERO with continuous public and political parties participation India’s Electoral Rolls are the biggest database of electors across the globe with over 99 crore registered electors. In addition to the continuous updation of Electoral Rolls, the Election Commission conducts Annual Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise every year for updation of electoral rolls which happens during the period of October-December every year with publication of final rolls in the following month of January. For the poll going States/UTs, SSR is also conducted prior to the elections. For the recently concluded SSR 2025, the schedule was issued on August 7, 2024 and the final rolls were published during Jan 6-10, 2025 and the participatory and transparent process is enumerated below:
1. At every booth, a Booth Level Officer (BLO) is appointed by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) amongst the officials of the state government.
2. At every booth, political parties also have the right to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs).
3. All BLAs have the right to verify the electoral roll of the concerned booth and raise a complaint for anomaly, if any.
4. After house-to-house field verification, the concerned BLO submits the recommendations to the concerned ERO.
5. After taking into cognizance the above facts, ERO verifies the details of each elector for updation of electoral rolls.
6. The draft electoral rolls prepared are published on the website and also made available to political parties and the public.
7. Only after verification of draft Electoral rolls and settling any claims and objections received during a one month period, final rolls are published which are made available to political parties and also available polling station wise on ECI website (https://voters.eci.gov.in/download-eroll).
8. If any person has any objection, he has the option to file the first appeal to the DM/District Collector/Executive Magistrate under section 24(a) of RP Act 1950.
9. Even if the person is not satisfied with the decision of the first appellate authority, a second appeal to Chief Electoral Officer of the concerned State/UT under section 24(b) of RP Act 1950 can be filed.
For the recently concluded SSR, the relevant details as reported by CEOs of States/UTs are available at Annexure A.
As regards the issue of duplicate EPIC numbers, the Commission has already taken cognizance of the matter. Irrespective of an EPIC number, an elector who is linked to the electoral roll of a particular polling
station can cast his vote at that polling station only and nowhere else. Sample enquiry of over 100 electors reveals that electors with duplicate EPIC numbers are genuine electors. Since the allotment of EPIC series in the year 2000 to the States/UTs, some EROs did not use the correct series. The issue of allotment of duplicate numbers due to incorrect series across States/UTs could not have been detected as the States/UTs were independently managing the electoral roll databases. The Commission has now decided to resolve this long pending issue after detailed discussions within the technical teams and concerned CEOs in the next three months by ensuring a unique national EPIC number to the existing electors having a duplicate EPIC number and for future electors as well."
On March 11, 2025, All India Trinamool Congress said:"The EPIC number duplication scam is a calculated assault on democracy. Issuing multiple voter IDs with the same number is a direct violation of electoral laws, yet @ECISVEEP has turned a blind eye for years. Why was this massive fraud kept under wraps until Smt. @MamataOfficial exposed it? And how does ECI plan to fix it in three months when it failed to even acknowledge the issue for years? Our MPs confronted the Chief Election Commissioner today, demanding accountability. But when faced with hard questions, all they had were vague, evasive answers. The fight to protect free and fair elections is on, and we won’t back down!"
Claiming the EPIC number duplication SCAM to be the BIGGEST ELECTORAL FRAUD of our times, a 10-member delegation of All India Trinamool Congress MPs met Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner on March 11, 2025 submitted a letter demanding: Why was this buried for years until Smt. @MamataOfficial exposed it? How can ECI "fix" it in 3 months when no action was taken for years? How many duplicate EPICs exist, and in which states?Will voters with duplicate EPICs be disenfranchised? How is Aadhaar cloning impacting voter registration and electoral rolls?" The letter is available at https://x.com/AITCofficial/status/1899463473970774255
On March 11, 2025, Election Commission of India issued a Press Note entitled "EC invites Party Presidents and senior leaders for interaction to further strengthen electoral processes within legal framework" The Note reads: "The Election Commission of India has invited suggestions from all National and State political parties by April 30, 2025 for any unresolved issues at the level of ERO, DEO or the CEO, as the case may be." In an individual letter issued to political parties on March 11, the Commission also envisaged an interaction with the Party Presidents and senior members of the party, at a mutually convenient time, to further strengthen electoral processes in accordance with the established law. Earlier, during an ECI conference last week, Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar had instructed CEOs, DEOs and EROs of all States/UTs to hold regular interactions with political parties, resolve any suggestions received in such meetings strictly within the legal framework already in place and submit an action taken report to the Commission by March 31, 2025. The Commission also urged political parties to proactively use this mechanism of decentralised engagement. Political parties are one of the key stakeholders amongst 28 stakeholders identified by the Commission as per the Constitution and statutory framework covering all aspects of electoral processes. The Commission in its letter to political parties also noted that Representation of the People Act 1950 & 1951; Registration of Electors Rules, 1960; Conduct of Election Rules, 1961; orders of Hon’ble Supreme Court and Instructions, Manuals and Handbooks issued by Election Commission of India from time to time (available on ECI website) have established a decentralised, robust and transparent legal framework for holding free and fair elections."
On March 12, 2025, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party Leader in Rajya Sabha, Derek O' Brien referred to "enough precedents" to demand an open discussion on the EPIC number duplication issue on the floor of Parliament next week under Rule 176 for 3 minutes if the it has not been allowed under Rule 267. He underlined that 7-8 parties are demanding it.
Earlier, on March 3, 2025, Empowered Action Group of Leaders and Experts (EAGLE) of Indian National Congress issued a release on the subject of Election Commission's complicity in voter list manipulation. It reads: "There are some startling developments on the issue of voter list manipulation that have surfaced. The same voter id number is being used for several voters, both from the same constituency in the same state as well as from other states. This is utterly shocking. A unique voter id for every Indian voter is the fundamental requirement and premise of a clean voter list. Multiple voters having the same voter id number is as bizarre as multiple vehicles bearing the same registration number in the country. It is unheard of in any electoral democracy.Back in December 2024, the Congress party pointed out huge irregularities and abnormalities in voter lists for the Maharashtra 2024 Vidhan Sabha election. It is both a logical and statistical absurdity that the Election Commission registered more new net voters (40 lakhs) in five months between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in 2024 than they did in the entire five-year period between 2019 and 2024 (32 lakhs). This was substantiated through ground reports in some constituencies where thousands of voters were added to the rolls from just one building or brought in from other states. It was further shown that suspiciously most of these new voters enrolled seem to have voted only for the BJP led alliance in Maharashtra, thereby tilting the eventual outcome in their favour.The Hon. Leader of Opposition Shri. Rahul Gandhi raised this issue on the floor of the Lok Sabha and demanded voter lists of Maharashtra. There was a joint press conference held by the Opposition alliance parties of Maharashtra on the same issue. The Election Commission’s stoic silence has only lent credence to their complicity in voter list manipulation."
It also stated: "When confronted with proof of same voter id number used by multiple voters, the Election Commission initially responded claiming that a voter id number may be the same across states, but it is unique to a particular state. Even that turned out to be a blatant lie as there are cases of the same voter id number used by several voters in the same state and in the same constituency. After this was pointed out, there has been pin drop silence.It is elementary knowledge that a person who can legally migrate to any state of the country must have a unique voter id number throughout the country. The Election Commission cannot feign ignorance or incompetence in this matter. It is a deliberate act of voter list manipulation to aid the ruling party and thwart the idea of free and fair elections.The cover is now blown. It is clear that the ruling BJP wins or attempts to win elections by manipulating voter lists in connivance with the Election Commission. Which is why the process of appointment of the Election Commissioners is so critical to the Narendra Modi government that it subverted a Supreme Court ruling to have a balanced committee to appoint Election Commissioners.This is a grave danger to the very idea of India as an electoral democracy. This transcends political parties and politics. Babasaheb Ambedkar fought for the setting up of an independent Election Commission to precisely resist this urge of executive interference in elections. The Congress party will not let this issue fade away and is actively working on seeking remedy through legal, political, legislative and any other means."
Earlier on March 2, 2025, Election Commission of India issued a Press Note entitled "EC clarifies that duplication in EPIC number does not imply duplicate/fake voters." It reads: The Election Commission has taken cognizance of certain social media posts and media reports flagging the issue of electors of two different states having identical EPIC numbers. In this regard, it is clarified that while EPIC numbers of some of the electors may be identical, the other details including demographic details, Assembly Constituency and polling booth are different for the electors with the same EPIC number. 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 allotment of identical EPIC number/series to some electors from different States/UTs was 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. This resulted in certain State/UT CEO offices using the same EPIC alphanumeric series and leaving a scope for the possibility of duplicate EPIC numbers being allotted to electors in different Assembly Constituencies in different States/UTs. However, to allay any apprehensions, the Commission has decided to ensure allotment of unique EPIC number to registered electors. Any case of duplicate EPIC number will be rectified by allotting a unique EPIC number. The ERONET 2.0 platform will be updated to aid and assist in this process."
Responding to the Press Note of the Election Commission of India, on March 7, 2025, EAGLE of INC issued a release on the subject of duplicitous response by the Election Commission to the issue of duplicate voter- ID numbers. It reads:" The Election Commission of India {ECI} has issued a duplicitous response on the issue of same voter Ins being allotted to multiple voters. The ECI, in its response, hides behind its processes to offer a feeble explanation. Shockingly but not surprisingly, the ECI has been forced to admit that its voter lists are flawed and not trustworthy. The Election Commission, in a letter issued on September 18th 2008 to Chief Electoral Officers of all States, had said that `voter-IDs are unique'. However, the ECI today says, the issue of duplicate voter-IDs is a "decades long issue". Which statement of the ECI should the citizens of India believe? Why should an average Indian voter today trust the Election Commission? Further, how is it that 17 years later, ECI speaks of constituting a body to clean up this process of multiple voter-IDs? Was the ECI then all along misrepresenting to the voters of India that the 'voter-IDs were unique'? If yes, then what are the other processes which ECI has been misrepresenting to its citizens? The initial response of the Election Commission to these questions was to defend itself by stating that this could happen only across states'. But there are instances with clear evidence of many voters with the same voter-ID in the same assembly constituency in the same state. Is the ECI then lying? As the issue of duplicate voter-IDs clearly is not across different states, but rather in the same state and, in many eases, in the same constituencies. There was a categorical demand made by the Hon. Leader of Opposition, Shri Rahul Gandhi, along with other concerned political parties, for the Election Commission to provide a copy of the Maharashtra voter rolls. Why has there been a deafening silence on this? This only reaffirms what the Congress party has been asserting- voter lists under the current ECI arc dubious and flawed. The Congress Party rejects this feeble and duplicitous explanation by the ECI and reiterates its demands to come clean on the sanctity of voter lists in India."
Having witnessed disturbing trend during the tenure of Rajiv Kumar, thE 25th Chief Election Commissioner, Indian National Congress established EAGLE, an eight-member group on February 2, 2025 to maintain an oversight over elections in India and to ensure that the Election Commission of India upholds the integrity of the electoral process. Initially, the group was set up to inquire into electoral malpractices in the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024. The EAGLE committee has been set up to observe elections closely and report its findings directly to the Leader of the Opposition. The committee was tasked to investigate alleged irregularities in Maharashtra’s voter lists. The panel includes Digvijaya Singh, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Praveen Chakravarty, Pawan Khera, Gurdeep Singh Sappal, Nitin Raut and Challa Vamshi Chand Reddy besides Ajay Maken. EAGLE is tasked "to monitor the conduct of free and fair elections by the Election Commission of India."
Gyanesh Kumar assumed charge as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India on February 19, 2025 in pursuance of the Ministry of Law & Justice Gazette notification dated February 17, 2025 after Rajiv Kumar demitted the office of Chief Election Commissioner on February 18, 2025. Rajiv Kumar had joined ECI as Election Commissioner on September 1, 2020 and he assumed charge as the 25th Chief Election Commissioner of India on May 15, 2022. He had a tenure of 4.5 years in the Election Commission. During his tenure, he completed one full electoral cycle with conduct of elections in 31 States/UTs, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections 2022, Lok Sabha elections 2024 and Rajya Sabha renewals. The February 17 Press Note underlined: "The elections were conducted peacefully with near zero repolls and incidents of violence" with the help of 5 million polling officials.
In his 6-page long farewell speech, Rajiv Kumar said, "During peak polling or counting hours, a wave of fake allegations and rumors begins to spread across media and social media, misleading people and creating confusion. Narratives are deliberately set to distort facts....The live reporting of hearing of the long pending cases at critical junctures, sometimes fuel distrust that the petitioner intends to create. It would be beneficial if such proceedings are scheduled with due consideration to the election period, ensuring that the electoral process remains smooth and undisturbed. This is a specific expectation of India’s esteemed constitutional Courts. I say this while recording my gratitude for the higher judiciary of the country which has consistently acted as the guardian spirit of India’s electoral process and system." He added, "The Commission, as an institution, often finds itself unfairly blamed by those unwilling to accept electoral outcomes. A pressing concern is the growing tendency to target election officials in the aftermath of electoral contests. It is perceived as a convenient scapegoat. All candidates and parties are involved in every stage of the process with utmost transparency. Having participated in each step, without raising objections or filing appeals during the process, then attempting to create doubt afterward is undesirable. Dialogue should always be the preferred approach and while the Commission reacts with sagacity, stoicism and restraint, this is a disturbing trend and should be abandoned soon."
Voter ID Card
A Voter ID Card, also known as the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is a photo identity card that is issued by the Election Commission of India to all individuals who are eligible to vote. It is issued under Section 61(b), Representation of the People Act, 1951; Rule 28(2), Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. It serves as an identification proof when individuals cast their vote and prevents the impersonation of voters. Rule 28(1), Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 is relevant in this regard. The Voter ID Card contains the elector’s name, age and residence (among other particulars), and must have elector’s photograph affixed to it. It bears the signature of the Registration Officer i.e., the electoral registration officer of your constituency. This provision is under Rule 2(d), Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The voter’s card is prepared in duplicate, and one copy is retained with the registration officer while the other is delivered to the voter. This is required under Rule 28(3), Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Under Article 326 of the Constitution of India, one can enroll as a voter if one is an Indian citizen, has attained the age of 18 years and is ordinarily resident of the polling area of the constituency where one wants to be enrolled. Under Section 11A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, one can enroll as a voter if one is not disqualified to be enrolled as an elector. The disqualification may happen if one is convicted for an offence or one carries out corrupt practices.
The Election Commission of India operates under the powers granted by Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1951. It is a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national, the State Legislative Assemblies, State Legislative Councils and the offices of the president and vice-president.
The framers of the Constitution devote a special chapter to elections in Part XV of the Constitution. The draft of Article 289 of the Constitution of India, which on adoption later became the present Article 324 in Part XV of the Constitution was introduced in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949 by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly.
American funding to increase voter turnout in India
Notably, on March 10, 2025, Deputy Chairman observed: "Ramji Lal Suman wants discussion over
the statement made by the US President regarding American funding to
increase voter turnout in India." This discussion was also refused. The response of the Election Commission of India with regard to the claim of the US President is awaited.
