Alternative documents for voters' identity

Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha on Tuesday said even though the Election Commission had directed voters to produce their Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) to establish their identity before casting their votes, those who did not have EPICs need not worry.

Voters shall produce any one of the following 23 photo documents for establishing their identity and exercise their franchise at their respective polling stations, he said.
The list includes: Authenticated photo voter slip; passport; driving licence; Income Tax identity (PAN) cards; service identity cards issued by State government, Central government, public sector undertakings or public limited companies; Passbooks issued by public sector banks, post office, kissan passbook (account opened on or before March 31, 2013); Student identity cards issued by recognised educational institutions on or before March 31, 2013; Property documents such as pattas, registered deeds, etc; Ration card issued up to March 31, 2013; SC, ST, OBC certificates issued by competent authority on or before March 31, 2013; Pension documents such as ex-servicemen’s pension book, ex-servicemen’s widow or dependent certificates issued up to March 31, 2013; Freedom fighter identity card; Arms licence issued on or before March 31, 2013; Certificate of physical handicap by the competent authority on or before March 31, 2013; Ex-servicemen CSD Canteen Card; Sandhya Suraksha Scheme card issued up to March 31, 2013; Job card issued under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme up to March 31, 2013; Yashaswini Card issued up to March 31, 2013; Service identity cards issued by local bodies namely municipal corporation, city municipal council, town municipal, council, village panchayat, etc; Senior citizen cards issued by government department; Health insurance scheme smart card issued under Ministry of Labour’s scheme up to March 31, 2013; Smart cards issued by the Registrar General of India under the scheme of National Population Register; Aadhaar Card issued by UIDAI.

Jha said that as many as 20,64,292 new inclusions had been made to the electoral rolls in the State, of which 6,23,527 were from Bangalore. Around 12,000 applications are under processing and soon the final list of voters will be ready. As of Tuesday, the total number of voters in the State electoral roll is around 4.38 crore, he said.

Voters in Bangalore need not worry too much if they misplace or lose their EPICs in the coming days.

The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, in association with the State e-governance department, has equipped as many as 10 Bangalore One centres to print duplicate EPICs for voters. 

Voters can go to any of these centres, produce a valid photo identity proof like driver’s licence or ration card, pay a nominal fee of Rs 10 and get the EPIC card printed for them, he said.

Over 3,000 complaints received

Anil Kumar Jha said the Election Commission has received 3,261 complaints regarding Assembly polls and related issues in the State so far. Apart from complaints on alleged violation of code of conduct, the list also includes suggestions and grievances from the public. As many as 1,987 complaints have been disposed of, he said.

Jha said election officials and police across the State have  seized cash and other valuables worth over Rs seven crore. On Tuesday, Rs one crore cash was seized in Bailhongal taluk of Belgaum district and Rs 21 cash in Bagalkot district. On Monday, Rs five lakh cash was seized in T Narsipur in Mysore district, Rs seven lakh in Bellary, Rs 3.4 lakh in Chitradurga and Rs 20 lakh in Athani of Belgaum district, he said.