TMC intensifies EPIC issue, questions Election Commission’s transparency amid political surge

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP from Diamond Harbour, Abhishek Banerjee, launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, accusing it of manipulating voter lists through duplicate Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPICs).

Speaking to the media in the national capital, Banerjee alleged that the BJP has already done it in both Delhi and Maharashtra. In Delhi, nearly 35,000 names were removed from the electoral rolls before the recent Assembly elections, Banerjee claimed.

The issue of duplicate EPICs has remained a contentious subject for months, with the TMC persistently urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to address the matter.

The party has warned that errors in the electoral rolls could lead to the exclusion of genuine voters, particularly in politically sensitive states like West Bengal. Earlier this month, a ten-member TMC delegation met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and submitted a six-page memorandum detailing instances of voter list tampering. Banerjee on the other hand also emphasised that the party has been actively monitoring voter lists at the grassroots level and has identified discrepancies, notably in a Panchayat in Baruipur, where 6,000 additional names were discovered.

Similar complaints have emerged from other parts of the state. He criticised the Election Commission for lacking transparency on the matter, asserting that the poll body has not provided the list of names being added or deleted, raising concerns over the fairness of the electoral process.

To counter the alleged irregularities, the TMC has launched a comprehensive voter list verification campaign across Bengal. The party has created new organisational posts to oversee the verification process at the booth level, aiming to scrutinise electoral rolls by April 30 this year. Training centres will be set up in every district to educate party workers on verifying EPIC numbers and ensuring the legitimacy of voter lists. Banerjee reiterated the party’s commitment to exposing any discrepancies and preventing electoral malpractice.