Journey of Voter ID Card from Not Feasible To Essential For Elections
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 12th March. Initially proposed in 1957, the Electors Photo Identity Card was first introduced nationwide in 1993 to prevent voter impersonation during elections.
What was once considered impractical by the Election Commission to implement on a large scale has now become a crucial part of India’s election process. These identity cards are now accepted as proof of identity and address.
A trial project to issue photo identity cards for voters was conducted in the Calcutta (South West) Parliamentary constituency during a by-election in May 1960, but it was unsuccessful and put on hold for nearly two decades. The distribution of photo identity cards began during the 1979 assembly elections in Sikkim and later expanded to other northeastern states like Assam, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.
India’s first Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sukumar Sen, saw the bill introduced in the Lower House of Parliament by his brother and then Union law minister Ashoke Kumar Sen on November 27, 1958, before retiring. The Bill became law on December 30, 1958, shortly after K V K Sundaram became India’s second CEC.
In a report on the 1962 Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission suggested that issuing identity cards with photographs to all electors in congested urban areas would help with identification during polls and prevent impersonation.
Despite efforts, the project in Calcutta faced challenges, with only a portion of electors receiving identity cards due to various reasons like women refusing to be photographed. The project was deemed impractical for large-scale implementation.
In 1993, the Electors Photo Identity Cards were officially introduced. In 2021, the Election Commission launched the Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card (e-EPIC).
The e-EPIC is a secure PDF version of the voter identity card with a QR code containing essential information. It can be downloaded and stored digitally on mobile devices or computers. India is preparing for the upcoming general elections to elect the 18th Lok Sabha, with the schedule expected to be announced soon.
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