Why is UP election chief targeting duplicate voter entries ahead of 2027 polls? What ECI says

Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa has directed election officials to expedite the removal of duplicate entries from electoral rolls, citing the need to ensure accurate voter lists ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, news agency PTI reported.The directive comes amid questions over how multiple voter ID cards can be generated for the same individual and the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s efforts to detect duplicate applications.Rinwa issued the directions during a virtual meeting with district election officers and electoral registration officers on Monday, reviewing preparations for a special voter registration campaign scheduled for October 24, according to PTI.He warned that negligence in the exercise would invite strict action against officials found responsible.“Negligence or laxity at any level will not be tolerated, and accountability will be fixed,” the CEO said, according to an official statement cited by PTI.Why is the ECI targeting duplicate voter entries?Rinwa directed booth-level officers (BLOs) to identify cases in which the same voter had submitted multiple applications during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Such cases must be resolved in accordance with prescribed rules, including through Form 7, which is used to seek deletion of names from electoral rolls, the report says.

The CEO also instructed BLO supervisors to monitor the exercise regularly and asked electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) to review progress and ensure timely disposal of duplicate entries, as per PTI.The objective, he said, is to ensure that the draft electoral rolls, scheduled to be published on November 12, are accurate and free of errors.Why are multiple voter ID cards being questioned?The directive comes amid a public exchange between the Uttar Pradesh CEO's office and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair on social media platform X.Zubair flagged a case involving a voter whose name was allegedly missing from the draft electoral roll but who had submitted multiple applications and received more than one voter ID card.The CEO's office disputed Zubair's account but acknowledged that multiple Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) can be generated when the same individual submits multiple forms.It said deduplication was being carried out periodically through the ECINET platform, with efforts under way to detect repeated applications at the submission stage itself.“We are on the path to achieving the objective of catching multiple forms submitted by an individual at the submission stage only,” the CEO's office said on X, adding that it expected to achieve the objective soon.What happens next?The Election Commission has organised special voter registration camps across all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh on October 17 and 24 to enrol eligible citizens whose names are missing from electoral rolls, particularly first-time voters, according to the report.Rinwa asked officials to coordinate with government departments, voluntary organisations, booth-level agents, municipal councillors and village heads to ensure the success of the October 24 campaign.He also directed officials to train BLOs on updates and procedural changes in ERO-Net to ensure that electoral roll-related work follows prescribed procedures.