The National Election Commission has scheduled a meeting next Tuesday to discuss linking Aadhaar with EPIC cards. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has called the meeting, which will be attended by the Union Home Secretary, the CEO of the Aadhaar Commission, the Secretary of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, and the Union Law Secretary. The commission has also invited opinions and suggestions from all national and regional political parties, requesting them to submit their responses by April 30. It is anticipated that the commission may take a policy decision regarding the linkage. The meeting is also expected to explore the initial steps for its implementation.
Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee was the first to highlight the issue of ‘ghost voters’—cases where multiple individuals are listed under the same EPIC number. On February 27, at a Trinamool meeting at Netaji Indoor Stadium, she cited multiple instances of such discrepancies. Following her remarks, a delegation from the party met with the Election Commission, questioning why the issue had been ignored for years until Mamata raised it.
Significantly, within five days of Mamata’s allegations, the Election Commission issued two statements acknowledging that voter cards with identical EPIC numbers exist across multiple states. Several opposition parties, including Congress and the NCP, have backed Trinamool’s concerns, questioning how the same EPIC number can be linked to voters in different states. They argue that this is a direct violation of Section 28 of the election rules. As the controversy stirred political debates in Delhi, the Election Commission has now taken action by finalizing a meeting to discuss the EPIC-Aadhaar linkage at its headquarters in New Delhi.