ECI Fails To Share ‘Date Break-Up’ On Total Anomalies With CEO

Official sources said details of the categories under which voters were flagged have not been shared with the CEO’s office.

“The ECI has not shared the break-up of the anomalies with us, nor have we sought them. Close to 70 to 80 per cent are spelling mistakes, while the remaining are age gap and logical discrepancies in progeny mapping,” conceded a higher official to Deccan Chronicle.

The anomalies include a gap of less than nine months between siblings; an age gap of less than 15 years or more than 50 years between a parent and child; an age gap of less than 40 years between an elector and grandparent; and differences in parent names between the current roll and the previous SIR.

Other categories include differences in the type of relative recorded in the current roll and previous SIR; mapping with the husband in the current roll and the father in the previous SIR; different father names in the current roll and previous SIR; incorrect age differences between the two rolls; absence of documents; Aadhaar as the sole document; and more than six children linked to one person.

Questions have also been raised over the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in identifying discrepancies during the SIR exercise.

Tech researcher and digital privacy advocate Srinivas Kodali said ERONET was using AI and questioned the reliability of the process. “AI for SIR runs on a ‘probabilistic system’. If you pose a question, the answer you get will be different, which completely depends on the percentage of AI’s predictions. The accuracy of the algorithm of ECI has always been challenged. The same model has been adopted for different languages creating more inaccuracies,” he argued.

The initial version of ERONET was launched in 2018. The Election Commission currently operates ERONET 2.0 as its centralised web and mobile-based platform for electoral roll management.

According to the TCS annual report for 2024-25, the ECI collaborated with TCS to develop ERONET 2.0. “The application managed the end-to-end life cycle of electors, and was available nationwide. ERONET 2.0 application has centralised database (Bengaluru) that serves as the single source of truth for the election body. A standout feature is the executive dashboard, which is updated daily and offers a 360-degree view of the life cycle of electors,” the annual report says.

Advocate M.A. Mujeeb Ayyub, an SIR activist, raised concerns over the use of AI-driven systems to flag ‘logical discrepancies’ and issue SIR notices.

“An algorithmic error must never become a reason for disenfranchisement. In the world’s largest democracy, every AI-generated flag must be subject to human verification, transparency, due process and an effective opportunity to respond. ECI must disclose the scale, methodology and safeguards governing AI use in SIR 2026. Technology should assist election officials — not decide who gets to exercise the right to vote,” he emphasised.