New Delhi, March 1: With the Lok Sabha elections about to knock the doors, the Election Commission in an attempt to maximise participation on the voters have given a green signal to 11 more documents, apart from Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC), informed the EC on Thursday. Among other information that the primary election conducting body said that it would no longer accept photo voter slips as stand-alone identification documents for voting, as these do not have any security features and can be misused.

The documents include – passports, Aadhaar document (the relevant parts of which many Indians have snipped out and made into Aadhaar cards), driving licences and PAN cards, among others. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Get Enrolled in Voter List in Delhi by Filing Form-6 on nvsp.in or Call Voter Helpline 1950, Says Election Commision. 

The EC in its order informed that during the Lok Sabha elections, the poll conducting body would allow voters to exercise their democratic rights through state and central government employees, state-owned companies, and public limited companies; passbooks with photograph issued by banks or post offices; and smart cards issued by the Registrar General of India under the National Population Register.

Also, the EC would accept Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) job cards; health insurance smart cards issued under the scheme of the ministry of labour; pension documents with photographs; and the official identity cards issued to members of Parliament, members of legislative assemblies, and members of legislative councils.

These identification cards can be used, in addition to the previously allowed identity cards. Also, the EC informed that it’s official would ‘overlook’ minor discrepancies in EPICs during the Lok Sabha elections, provided the identity of an elector can be established by it.

It said, “If an elector produces an EPIC which has been issued by the electoral registration officer of another assembly constituency, such a card shall also be accepted for identification, provided the name of that elector finds place in the electoral roll pertaining to the polling station where the elector has turned up for voting.”

The Election Commission has registered more than 814 million people in the country till 2014 and the numbers have increased in the last five years. Among them, include the 23.1 million people of them were between 18-19 years in 2014. A new updated list would be released soon by poll conducting body.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2019 09:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).