ECI refutes CM Mamata’s claim on voter ID duplication, TMC in damage control

After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged discrepancies in the voter list, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has gone into damage control following the Election Commission of India's (ECI) clarification. On Sunday, the ECI issued a statement indirectly refuting Mamata Banerjee's claim that voters from two different states were assigned the same EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) number.

Last week, Mamata Banerjee had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of adding names of people from other states to Bengal’s voter list during an extended organizational meeting of the TMC. To support her claim, she even presented an example of identical EPIC numbers belonging to voters from two different states.

In response, the Election Commission clarified in its Sunday statement that duplication of EPIC numbers does not indicate fake or fraudulent voters. It further explained that, in some cases, the same alphanumeric series of EPIC numbers has been used across different states or union territories, leading to this situation.

Following this clarification, the TMC swiftly moved into damage control mode. The party’s state general secretary, Kunal Ghosh, countered by stating that the Election Commission's statement indirectly confirmed Mamata Banerjee’s allegations. He claimed that after TMC exposed the conspiracy, the Commission itself was now engaging in damage control.

Kunal Ghosh asserted that complaints regarding the same voter being registered in multiple states had been proven correct. "How did this situation arise in the first place? There is still no answer to this," he said. "Now that everything has been exposed, the Commission is saying it will take some steps. But we do not trust their words."

He further stated that, under the party leader’s instructions, a thorough booth-wise and address-wise examination of the voter list would continue with full force. He also mentioned that media reports about the Election Commission were not satisfactory, so TMC’s investigation would proceed independently.