Congress MP Rahul Gandhi flags ‘fake’ voter addresses as EC defends use of notional house numbers

The Election Commission (EC) has come under fire after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, alleging large-scale electoral irregularities in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura constituency, pointed out that nearly half of the 100,250 “stolen” votes listed included dubious addresses.

In response, the EC defended its use of "notional" house numbers — symbols assigned to households lacking formal address listings — to ensure every eligible voter is recorded and none are excluded due to incomplete data.

Rahul Gandhi’s claim emerged from a month-long internal investigation by Congress into 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He alleged that 40,009 addresses were invalid and 10,452 votes came from "bulk voters" at the same addresses, raising suspicions of coordinated fraud.

The EC clarified that assigning notional house numbers is standard protocol dating back to India’s shift to digital electoral rolls in 1998.

These symbolic numbers serve as placeholders when formal addresses are pending, particularly in newly developed or rural areas where local authorities have not assigned official numbers. The practice is explicitly documented and used to guarantee inclusivity.

In Bihar’s Digha constituency, for instance, voters were listed under generic identifiers like "House No. 107" and "109" within a veterinary college campus. While RJD flagged it as suspicious, the EC acknowledged it was part of using notional numbering to compensate for missing formal addresses.

Officials stress that this method ensures eligible citizens are not excluded simply because their physical addresses are incomplete or non-standard.

The EC is currently working with the Department of Posts and local authorities on policies to standardize address data and reduce such discrepancies.

The concerns raised by Rahul Gandhi reflect broader systemic issues with address standardisation across India. Despite having a central role in civic services and identity documents, address data is often mismatched due to linguistic diversity, inconsistent formats, and fragmented governance systems.

The Department of Posts has already cited these challenges, pushing for a national digital address infrastructure.

Moving forward, the EC has reaffirmed that every entry in electoral rolls is based on valid claims by citizens. The notional numbers are marked clearly, and booth-level officers (BLOs) continue to conduct on-ground verification to uphold roll integrity.