Duplicate EPIC numbers: ‘Nearly 5,000 such cases across South Dinajpur district’

BALURGHAT: In a startling revelation, two voters have been found to have the same Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number in Gangarampur. One of them is Basanti Mitra, wife of Biplab Mitra, the minister of Consumer Affairs in Bengal and a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, while the other is Pravinaben Panchali, a resident of Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

According to reports, both Basanti Mitra from South Dinajpur and Pravinaben Panchali from Gujarat’s Ghatlodia constituency share the same EPIC number. However, there is a difference in their polling stations and ages. Basanti Mitra is registered as a voter in Gangarampur Assembly Constituency and is 59-years-old, while Pravinaben Panchali is 72-years-old and a voter in Gujarat’s Ghatlodia Constituency.

Following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s directive, Trinamool Congress workers in South Dinajpur have been actively identifying such duplicate EPIC voters. The party has claimed that there are nearly 5,000 such cases across the district. The local TMC leadership is reportedly sending daily updates to the party high command regarding the number of such voters being identified.

Speaking to Millennium Post, Ashok Kumar Mitra, Chairman of Balurghat Municipality and a Trinamool Congress leader, stated: “No two individuals should have the same EPIC number anywhere in the country. The Election Commission’s website confirms this. It was due to Mamata Banerjee’s movement in 1992 that EPIC-based voting was introduced nationwide. Now, we are seeing multiple voters with the same EPIC number, which is technically impossible. We suspect that the Central government is manipulating the system in collusion with the Election Commission.”

Expressing serious concerns, Mitra further alleged: “The same fraudulent EPIC numbers may have influenced elections in Maharashtra and Delhi. We now question whether the BJP-led Central government secured power in 2024 through such electoral manipulation.”

Meanwhile, Subhash Chaki, vice-president of the South Dinajpur Trinamool Congress, demanded a thorough investigation, stating: “Such irregularities cannot happen without the direct involvement of the Election Commission. This is a growing issue across the state and South Dinajpur is no exception.”