The Election Commission has rolled out a new ‘e-sign’ feature on its ECINet portal and app, which requires those seeking to register as voters, or applying for deletion and corrections, to verify their identity using their Aadhaar-linked phone numbers.

The EC move comes less than a week after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged the misuse of online voter deletion forms in Karnataka’s Aland constituency, ahead of the 2023 state Assembly polls, as part of his press conference on “electoral fraud”.

Earlier, applicants could submit forms on the EC apps and portal after connecting a phone number with an existing Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number, with no verification done of whether the details indeed belonged to them.

The e-sign feature, not present till Monday, could b

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