Every Indian citizen above 18 years cast their vote to elect their representative. We need identity proof to cast our vote. But, some people misuse this right and have 2 or 3 voter IDs. The government has introduced the seeding of Aadhaar and EPIC to stop such activities. EPIC means Election Photo Identity Card.

The main purpose of government is to authorise and authenticate entries and electors’ identities in the electoral rolls. They want to spot those people who have registered themselves in several constituencies or vice-versa.

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The Aadhaar card is a specific ID issued to an individual that is valid throughout their lifetime. It is important for issuing death certificates. If an individual is helpless to hand over details like iris scans or fingerprints, they can’t have their own Aadhaar Card.

The Indian Government introduced linking the two documents to avoid fake voter ID cards. It also helps to reduce criminal activities associated with Voter IDs.

Some of the benefits of the Voter ID card

• It helps to eliminate fraud voting
• It is proof of one’s nationality.
• Voter ID acts as a document and Identity proof.
• It is like a recognition of registered voters.
• It acts as Address proof in case of indefinite residence.

Read to know the different ways of linking Aadhaar and EPIC. Some of them are mentioned below.

The process of linking Aadhaar and EPIC via SMS are:

• Send an SMS to 166 or 51969 with the registered number.
• Write a message in this format- ECILINK<SPACE><EPIC No.><SPACE><Aadhaar No.>.

With the help of a phone, you can link your Aadhaar Card to your Voter ID. The contact number is 1950. This number is available between 10 AM-5 PM from Monday to Friday.

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After that, give your Aadhaar number and EPIC number to customer support. The details that you share will be verified. Once the verification process is done, you will be informed via phone.

This method is for those who can physically present their document. You can submit copies of EPIC and Aadhaar cards along with the filled form Annexure ‘A’ to your concerned Electoral Registration Officer’s office. One can also submit these documents to the Voter’s Help Center in your Legislative Assembly area.

You can also try the online method. Linking Aadhaar and EPIC is an easy task in the Internet era. Yes, you can easily seed both documents with the help of the Internet.

Follow these steps for linking Aadhaar and EPIC via the NVSP portal

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• Visit NVSP. Log in.
• On successful login, fill in the details of your Aadhaar number, mention your state, and district as well as other details such as Name, DOB, and Father’s Name.
• After that, hit the Search button. If the information you feed matches the government database it will appear on the monitor.
• There is a “Feed Aadhaar No” option on the left. Select it.
• A pop-up window will be displayed. It requires the following details

1. 1. Share the same name that you have mentioned on your Aadhaar Card.
   2. EPIC number
   3. Aadhaar details
   4. Email address or mobile number (Both should be registered)

• Click Submit. A notification will appear. This notification is a confirmation message that says- “Your Aadhaar and EPIC are registered successfully”.

• Download the Mobile App ‘Helpline App’ from Playstore or App Store.
• Click on the voter Registration option.
• An Electoral Authentication form will be displayed. This form is called Form 6B. Click it.
• Enter the contact details. Click Send OTP.
• Verify you’re mobile number by providing OTP that you will receive on your number.
• Enter your Voter ID Fetch your Voter ID details and submit.
• Write your Aadhaar number. Add contact details. Now, Click Place and Submit.
• Check details and confirm submission.

The government aims to Link your Aadhaar and EPIC to maintain democracy and reduce corruption. Having several voter ID cards as a voter is illegal and punishable in India. Hence, being a good citizen, you must link both your document.