EC Planning To Find 'Ghost Voters' Amid TMC's Allegation, Here's How It Will Be Done

The Election Commission will introduce a new option to detect "ghost voters" amid TMC's allegation.

The Election Commission will introduce a new software update to detect "ghost voters".

Source : PTI

The Election Commission has decided to introduce a new option in its software for the detetion of 'ghost voters', said an official on Monday. The decision comes amid the Trinamool Congress higlighting the issue of fake voters. 

The Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will be able to find multiple names on a particular EPIC number through this new option, the official said, reported PTI. 

"The chief electoral officers in all states have been informed about this decision," he said.

A letter was sent to the chief electoral officers of the states on Monday informing them about a new module for correcting 'duplicate EPIC numbers', the official said.

As per the official, the state election officers or the district EROs were not able to see the identity cards or EPIC numbers of voters from their end until now and thus missed out on those with similar EPIC numbers in other states. 

On Monday, Acting Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, Dibyendu Das held a virtual meeting with senior officials in the districts and briefed them about the decision, he said.

Corrections in the voter list of the state have been ordered to be completed by March 21, he added. 

TMC's Blueprint To Root Out 'Ghost Voters'

TMC MP and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee laid out a blueprint to root out 'ghost voters' ahead of the 2026 assembly polls in West Bengal. 

On Saturday, in a virtual meeting, Banerjee discussed the plan which involves appointing agents and setting up committees at various levels to ensure the identification of these fake voters.

He accused the BJP of conniving with the Election Commission in a conspiracy to disenfranchise Bengal’s electorate. 

"Multiple voters, primarily from BJP-ruled states, have been assigned the same EPIC number in Bengal - a sinister plot to plant fake voters and manipulate the 2026 assembly elections," Banerjee said. 

Last month, TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP had enrolled “fake voters” from other states with the help of the ECI.