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| The age on the EPIC, as on January 1, 2003, is 259 |
Meet Amit Banerjee. He is 49, but if you go by his voter identity card, he is going on 267. The “EPIC proportions” of Banerjee’s age is thanks to a goof-up by the Election Commission.
According to Banerjee’s EPIC card, he was 259 years old on January 1, 2003.
“I had to fill up a long form while applying for the EPIC and then had to stand for hours in a queue to get myself photographed,” said the Sonarpur resident, who will vote in the Sonarpur (South) constituency on Wednesday.
Banerjee — who was born on July 11, 1962 — was fuming when he noticed the age on his card. “I brought the matter to the notice of the person who was issuing the cards. He assured me, saying: ‘These things occur… nothing will happen because of it’,” Banerjee recalled.
That was eight years ago. Banerjee, since then, has voted twice without facing any problem.
“A person’s photograph, his name and father’s name and address should be accurate. A mistake in the age doesn’t affect the voting process,” said Saibal Barman, the joint chief election officer.
But others are not as flexible. “I could not use my EPIC as an identity proof while applying for a bank loan,” Banerjee rued. He said the prospect of having to stand in a queue once again had put paid to his plans of getting his details corrected.
Barman suggested an “easy” way out. “Just approach the electoral registration officer of your constituency and fill up an application form mentioning the changes. Submit the details and a new EPIC would be issued,” Barman said.