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Sources within the poll body said the technical change was initiated around July–August this year, well before the Karnataka voter deletion controversy surfaced.
Election Commission of India (PTI)
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced an additional layer of identity verification for voter deletion requests on its portal and mobile app. The move comes in the wake of recent allegations by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that motivated deletions are taking place in the Aland assembly constituency of Karnataka.
Until recently, any request for voter deletion could be made by simply using a mobile number linked to an Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC). Officials acknowledge that individuals could potentially submit deletion requests without the voter’s explicit involvement. Now, with the e-sign feature activated, users must undergo Aadhaar-linked identity verification to confirm their request, making the process more secure and traceable.
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Now, if a user submits form 6 (new voter) or form 7 (deletion), the ECINet portal takes them to an external CDAC website where Aadhaar-linked verification is carried out. It is only post this verification that the user is redirected to EC site.
The Commission’s intervention comes amid a political row triggered by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s charge of “vote chori” in Karnataka. However, sources within the poll body said the technical change was initiated around July–August this year, well before the Karnataka voter deletion controversy surfaced.
Gandhi had alleged that mass deletion of voters sympathetic to the Congress was being engineered in Aland, a constituency with a sizable minority population. The Election Commission, however, strongly rebutted the claims, calling them “factually incorrect and misleading.” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and his colleagues had emphasised that the voter rolls are continuously updated under a transparent process, and any deletion requires multiple levels of verification.
Officials in Karnataka also pointed out that the information cited by Gandhi was not new. The state’s Chief Electoral Officer clarified that details about deletion requests in Aland had been shared more than two years ago and were part of routine roll revisions. The BJP, meanwhile, seized upon the controversy to accuse the Congress leader of irresponsibility, arguing that he had “exposed” himself by politicising a standard electoral procedure.
About the Author
Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from ground zero …Read More
Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from ground zero … Read More
September 24, 2025, 16:02 IST
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