Manipur purged 67,844 fake voters in 2019: Biren Singh supports Aadhaar-Voter ID link

Former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has emphasized the urgent need for strict verification in linking Aadhaar with voter IDs, citing the 2019 Electoral Verification Programme in Manipur, which identified and removed 67,844 fake voters. 

Notably, 24,636 of these were from a single district, highlighting the scale of electoral malpractice.

Singh welcomed the Election Commission’s decision to link Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) with Aadhaar, calling it a crucial step toward transparency and fraud prevention. 

However, he stressed the importance of filtering out fake Aadhaar holders, as past incidents have shown Aadhaar being misused for illegal voter registration.

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“To protect electoral integrity, only genuine Aadhaar holders should be linked to voter IDs. A robust verification process, cross-checking government records, and on-ground scrutiny are essential to eliminate fraudulent entries while safeguarding the rights of legitimate voters,” Singh stated.

His remarks align with constitutional provisions and Supreme Court judgments supporting electoral reforms. 

As discussions continue on implementing this linkage nationwide, Singh’s call for rigorous checks underscores the challenges in ensuring a fair and transparent voting system.