High-Level Discussions on March 18
The Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, has scheduled a meeting with senior officials from the Union home ministry and the legislative department on March 18 to discuss linking Aadhaar with voter ID cards. The decision follows recent instructions to state electoral officers to make all possible efforts to connect electoral rolls with Aadhaar.
Opposition Raises Concerns Over Voter Fraud
The move has sparked criticism from opposition parties, who have accused the Election Commission of favoring the central government. They argue that linking Aadhaar to voter ID could lead to voter suppression and manipulation, raising concerns over electoral integrity.
Aadhaar-Voter ID Linking: Mandatory or Not?
The Aadhaar-voter ID linkage has been debated since the Election Laws (Amendment) Act of 2021, which allows electoral officers to request Aadhaar numbers for voter verification. While the Election Commission has stated that Aadhaar is not mandatory, the process has effectively left voters with no alternative.
Form 6B, introduced in 2022, requires voters to either provide their Aadhaar number or declare that they do not have one. However, there is no option to refuse Aadhaar linkage if a voter has one, raising questions about whether the process is truly voluntary.
Why the Election Commission Wants Aadhaar Linkage
Officials argue that Aadhaar linkage is necessary to eliminate duplicate voter IDs, a persistent issue in electoral rolls. Duplicate entries arise due to:
- Multiple voters sharing the same ID number
- Individuals possessing multiple voter IDs across different constituencies
The Commission currently relies on deep learning technology in ERONet software to identify Demographically Similar Entries (DSE) and Photographically Similar Entries (PSE) for potential duplicate deletion. However, the process is slow and inefficient, making large-scale cleanups challenging. Aadhaar linkage is seen as a way to streamline this process.
Political and Legal Implications
The Supreme Court previously heard petitions on Aadhaar-voter ID linking but disposed of them after the Election Commission clarified that the process was not mandatory. However, with the recent push for Aadhaar linkage, legal and political debates are likely to resurface.
