Clean up the voter list urgently, but not the Bihar way, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) voter lists contain duplicate voter IDs across different states, violating basic ID system principles.
• An attempt to delete 6,000 genuine voters in the Aland constituency, Karnataka, was exposed on September 18, 2025.
• The ECI changed the voter detail modification process to use Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers without public discussion.
• India's voter lists are allegedly filled with duplicate, fake, and ghost voters, according to recent claims on November 5, 2025.

Detailed Insights:

• The ECI's voter list management system has faults that can be exploited to manipulate electoral outcomes, as demonstrated by the ability to change a voter's registered mobile number and apply for deletion using Form-8.
• A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to purify voter lists is needed, but the ECI's bias and past actions raise concerns about its ability to conduct this impartially.
• The Bihar-style SIR is criticized for its alleged malicious intent and rushed execution, aimed at deleting genuine voters under the guise of removing illegal migrants.
• Aadhaar linking is essential for de-duplication of voter lists to remove duplicates, fake IDs, and ensure each voter has a unique, non-transferable ID, but the ECI has resisted this.
• The ECI should proactively enroll genuine voters by visiting every household and using proper documentation, rather than relying on voters to register themselves online or at centers.
• Opposition parties' suggestions and complaints, such as those regarding the mass addition of fake voters in Maharashtra in October 2024, have been ignored by the ECI.
• Opposition parties are demanding that the ECI publish the final, consolidated, and machine-readable digital copy of the photo voter rolls after the SIR process to restore trust.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC): A photo ID issued by the ECI to registered voters.
• Aadhaar: A 12-digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India.
• Special Intensive Revision (SIR): A process to purify and update voter lists by removing duplicates and ineligible voters.