Gujarat Identifies 3.77 Lakh Duplicate Voter Entries During Roll Revision.

EC Bombshell: 3.77 Lakh Duplicate Voters Flagged in Gujarat.

The Election Commission authorities in Gujarat have detected 3,77,635 Demographically Similar Entries (DSEs) in the state’s electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. These entries indicate that a significant number of voters may be holding two or more Elector’s Photo Identity Cards (EPICs), either within the same constituency or across different constituencies.

The detection was carried out using specialised software designed to identify similarities across multiple data points, including the voter’s name, a family member’s name, age, and gender. Based on this multi-parameter analysis, the system flagged entries that appear demographically similar and may represent duplicate registrations.

Election officials clarified that possessing more than one EPIC is a legal violation under Sections 17 and 18 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which prohibit multiple voter registrations. However, authorities also stressed that not all such cases are fraudulent in nature.

According to officials, duplicate entries often occur due to administrative or life changes rather than deliberate wrongdoing. Common reasons include voters shifting residence and registering at a new address without deleting their earlier entry, women obtaining a new EPIC after marriage while the old record remains active, or errors during previous revisions of electoral rolls.

As part of the corrective process, notices will be issued to the voters whose entries have been flagged. After the publication of the draft electoral roll on December 19—a date that was recently extended—Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct physical verification by visiting the listed addresses to confirm voter details and current residence.

The primary objective of the exercise, officials said, is to ensure that voters are registered only at their place of ordinary residence, thereby improving the accuracy and integrity of the electoral rolls ahead of future elections.

Voters who are aware that they have duplicate or outdated entries have been advised to act proactively by submitting Form 7, which allows for the formal deletion of their name from electoral rolls where they no longer reside. Election authorities emphasised that public cooperation is crucial for maintaining clean and error-free voter lists.