NEW DELHI (TIP): The Election Commission will launch a nationwide drive on March 1 to purify electoral rolls through linking of Aadhaar number with the electors’ database. The rolls authentication and purification mission will strive to stop duplication in voters’ list by allowing an elector to feed his/her Aadhaar number for attaching it with Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) data. The project, to be launched by chief election commissioner H S Brahma, is expected to weed out fraudulent EPIC card holders, including duplicates, bogus, ineligible and voters who have moved house, from the electors’ database. The commission hopes to complete the project by August 15 this year.

The launch of the rolls cleaning mission follows the successful execution of a pilot project in GHMC area in Nizamabad district of Telangana. Voters can opt for online seeding of their Aadhaar numbers with EPIC database by using the dedicated EPIC-Aadhaar seeding portal or through mobiles, SMS or call centre. Voters can link the EPIC number with Aadhaar number using the online portal after receiving a one-time password on their mobile number. Seeding may also be done on mobile phones with the help of an Android or iOS application that may be downloaded from the concerned state CEO’s website. SMS-based seeding may also be undertaken by sending the Aadhaar number and voter I-card number to a designated number in a given format. The last option includes making a call to a call centre and giving one’s EPIC and Aadhaar number to the operator.