Election ID-Aadhaar card linking: CEC to meet home, legislative secretaries on March 18

New Delhi: Aiming to address concerns over alleged bogus voters, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has called a meeting on March 18 (Tuesday) with the Union Home Secretary and the Legislative Secretary to discuss the issue of linking voter identity cards with Aadhaar numbers.

The meeting, sources said, comes amid allegations by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about the inclusion of bogus and duplicate names in voters’ lists.

At present, there is no legal binding for voter rolls to be seeded with the Aadhaar database. Voters are expected to voluntarily provide their Aadhaar number to the election officers to establish their identity.

The proposed meeting on Tuesday has been planned considering the ECI’s earlier invitation of suggestions from all national and state political parties to strengthen electoral processes.

The poll body set April 30 as the deadline for political parties to submit inputs regarding any unresolved issues at the level of Electoral Registration Officers (ERO), District Election Officers (DEO), or Chief Electoral Officers (CEO), as applicable.

In an official statement, the ECI said it has sent individual letters to political parties seeking their feedback and has also proposed direct interactions with party presidents and senior leaders at a mutually convenient time. The initiative aims to enhance electoral practices while ensuring compliance with the established legal framework.

The move comes after a recent ECI conference, where Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar directed officials, including CEOs, DEOs, and EROs across all States and Union Territories, to hold regular engagements with political parties.

He had also instructed them to resolve suggestions received in such meetings strictly within the existing legal provisions and submit an action taken report by March 31.

Political parties are among 28 key stakeholders identified by the Commission under the Constitution and statutory framework that govern various aspects of the electoral process.

–IANS