Basti: Following widespread electoral roll irregularities in Pilibhit and Azamgarh, massive discrepancies have now surfaced in the voter list of Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district. During a special revision campaign initiated by the Election Commission, officials discovered that several voters were registered multiple times, casting doubt on the data entry and ground-level verification processes.
The district administration has identified 152 duplicate entries so far. The anomalies range from a single voter being registered at two to three different places, to individuals possessing multiple Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers despite having the same name, photograph, and address on record.
The flaws came to light when citizens arrived at polling stations, including the one at Khair College, to check their details during the special drives held on October 17 and 24. A local voter, Aasiya Khatoon, discovered her name registered at three separate places. While her photograph and her husband’s details remained identical across all entries, she was assigned three different EPIC numbers. Another voter, Gudiya, found her name registered twice with distinct EPIC numbers and different photographs, though her husband’s name and residential address matched. Similar complaints were raised by Kusum Devi from Turkahia, Adeeba Waheed, and Abdul Hamid, who all found multiple voter ID numbers issued against their identical personal details.
Local election officials have stepped in to rectify the situation. Piyush Gupta, an Election Commission official in Basti, confirmed that the discrepancies are under scrutiny. “The doubtful names are currently being investigated. Anyone whose name is registered at multiple places will have the extra entries removed,” Gupta stated.
Providing further details, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Gyan Chandra Gupta explained that the draft voter list was originally published on April 10, 2026. “Following the draft publication, we received information about duplicate entries. We have marked 152 such names so far. After proper verification, the additional entries will be deleted as per the rules,” he said.
The discovery of multiple EPIC numbers for single individuals has prompted administrative reviews to determine if this was a massive data entry failure or a lapse by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during physical verification. Authorities maintained that a duplicate entry does not automatically imply that fraudulent voting has taken place, which can only be confirmed after reviewing past election records.