Fake and defunct voter id cards bring fake and bogus voters to the polling booths during the Elections. It has been an ambition of each and every well wisher of the Indian Democracy along with the Election Commission of India to have totally ‘Free and Fair’ Elections. In the present Election scene of India, bogus voters and fake voter id card play the role of greatest hindrances to the idea of ‘Free and Fair’ Elections in India. Crores of fake voter id cards and corresponding bogus voters exist in our Democracy and they probably try their best to distort the Voting results to an outcome not favorable for a majority of people. Another important identity document that was launched by the previous UPA Government aims at the unification of all the important identity cards into a single identification number called the Aadhar. The Aadhar scheme is now also continued by the present NDA Government. Currently, the online Aadhar card is also very popular, making it more widespread than the EPIC.

Linking Aadhar Card to EPIC and Other Instruments

Aadhar Card is increasingly being connected to important instruments like Bank Accounts, Debit Cards, and Pan Cards. In a bid to cut down the number of fake voter id cards in India, the Election Commission of India has decided to instruct the voters to link their Aadhar Cards to the voter id cards. This move is to ensure that the bogus voters are eliminated from the ECI database. The number of bogus voters could be approximated by the following statistics: – There are presently 84 crore voter IDs in India whereas the number of actual voters is only 74 crores. Since it is illegal to possess more than one voter id cards, therefore, more than 10 crores voters are possibly bogus or fake.

How to Link Aadhar Card to EPIC?

Such a huge number of bogus voters is surely undesirable by the Election Commission of India because, if these many voters have a potential to cast fake votes then the idea of a ‘Free and Fair Election’ is hard to conceive. Therefore, it is really important that the voters of India link Aadhar Cards to voter id cards. Online Aadhar card has been there for a while now and similarly, the process of linking your Voter ID Card to it can also be done online or via SMS. Please refer our quick and informative guide on how to link Aadhar to Voter ID Card over here.

The Election Commission of India launched the online National Voters’ Service Portal on 25th January. On this portal, the voters of India could make changes to their incorrect voter id card details like name, age, etc. This is also the portal where the voters will be able to connect their Aadhar Details with the EPICs. The drive officially kicks off on 1st March 2015 and the voters would then be able to add the required details to connect both the cards.

Why Link Aadhar to EPIC?

According to Sh. H.S. Brahma(EC), linking of Aadhar card to EPIC for each and every Indian voter is the target for the Election Commission of India(sic). Once all the information is gathered, multiple voter id cards along with the bogus voter details would be eliminated from the ECI database.

Linking of Aadhar with EPIC is surely going to be a huge step towards achieving the goal of ‘Free and Fair’ Elections in India. The Aadhar Card being more widespread than the voter id card, is the consensus for widespread linking Aadhar Card to EPIC. Although, for the vote casting process, the EPIC would still be the primary document and linking Aadhar Card to EPIC is not compulsory for the voters.

Guidelines for NRIs Linking Aadhar Card to EPIC

NRI Voters would be allowed to add details on their passports or driving licenses instead of Aadhar Card for linking Aadhar Card to EPIC. This way, the Election Commission of India surely sent out a message that the NRI voters are never left out from the important steps and decisions taken with regard to the voting rights of Indian Citizens.

Guidelines for People Living in Distressed or Remote Locations

For people living in distressed areas, the Election Commission of India announced that deadline relaxations would surely be provided. That means, people living in Naxalite affected areas and remote North-Eastern localities, have more time for linking Aadhar Card to EPIC.

Since, linking Aadhar to EPIC is not compulsory, voters would still be able to cast their votes even if the task of linking Aadhar to EPIC is not completed. However, it is highly recommended that the voters use the National Voters’ Service Portal and link their Aadhar to EPIC once, the drive is kicked off on 1st March 2015