Election Commission to Address Duplicate Voter ID Numbers

The poll body clarifies that identical EPIC numbers do not indicate fake voters and announces measures to ensure unique identifiers.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) clarified that duplicate EPIC numbers result from an outdated manual system used before the ERONET platform was implemented.
Duplicate numbers do not imply fake voters, as demographic details, polling booths, and constituencies remain distinct for each voter.
The ECI announced plans to assign unique EPIC numbers to all registered voters and update the ERONET 2.0 platform to facilitate this process.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of manipulating voter rolls with non-resident entries, a claim dismissed by the ECI.
The BJP countered the allegations, calling them baseless and accusing the TMC of spreading misinformation ahead of the 2026 state elections.