The ruling Trinamul in Bengal Tuesday kept the heat on the Election Commission of India on “voter-fraud” releasing a fresh set of what the party referred to as evidence of a conspiracy to deny genuine voters the right to exercise their franchise in Opposition-ruled states.
On Monday morning, the Trinamul’s Rajya Sabha Parliamentary Party Leader Derek O'Brien had issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the central poll panel to admit its error on Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) duplication or face another expose.
After Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee flagged the voter-list issue in a party meeting last week in Kolkata, the central poll panel had contended that the photo identity card of some voters “may be identical” but the demographic details, constituency and polling booth are different.
The Trinamul on Tuesday alleged that the ECI stands exposed and wants to “brazen it out.”
“The clarification given by ECI (on a Sunday) in response to CM Mamata Banerjee is actually a cover-up,” said Trinamul Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale.
He said the central poll panel’s clarification contradicted its own rules and guidelines laid down in the Handbook for Electoral Registration Officers.
The EC claimed that some voters in different states had the same number on their photo identity cards because their respective states used the same “alphanumeric series.”
The Trinamul MP Gokhale said EPIC numbers carry three letters and seven digits.
“The ECI handbook clearly states that the three letters, known as Functional Unique Serial Number (FUSN) are different for every Assembly constituency,” he said. “It is impossible for voters in two different assembly constituencies even within the same state to have the same EPIC numbers as voters in West Bengal have been allotted to random people in Haryana, Gujarat and other states.”
Gokhale said while the ECI assured that people with the same EPIC number can vote in the booths they are enrolled in, the reality was different.
“In photo electoral rolls, the elector is linked to his photo by the EPIC number. When a voter in Bengal goes to cast their vote, their photo on the electoral roll will be different if the same EPIC number has been allotted to a person in another state. This will lead to refusal of voting because of a photo mismatch,” said Gokhale. “By allotting the same EPIC numbers in different states, voting can be denied to those likely to vote for non-BJP parties.”
Gokhale said the voter identity card was considered a unique identity card for a reason, and the EC’s claim that the duplication of alphanumeric codes did not make a difference was bogus.
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“ECI rules mandate that the software used for issuing EPIC keeps a track of every used and unused number to ensure that the same EPIC is not allotted to multiple people, thus making it fit to be considered as permanent unique ID,” Gokhale said.
“This clearly reeks of a conspiracy to conduct voter suppression in favour of the BJP where voters in non-BJP areas are being targeted by issuing their EPIC numbers to people in other states,” he said. “It raises serious questions about the actions of the ECI especially considering that the election commissioners are now appointed by the Modi government by majority on a three-member panel where two members are PM and Amit Shah.”
Gokhale echoed Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s charge that an election commission partial to the BJP was dangerous for democracy.
“If ECI is compromised on behalf of BJP, there is zero possibility of elections being free and fair. ECI must also come clean and disclose how many EPICs are currently active and how many of those bear the same numbers,” Gokhale said. “Election Commission of India must come clean on this and an impartial investigation must be conducted on this voter ID scam."