After the recent ruckus created by Congress Rahul Gandhi, with his baseless allegations of fake voters being included by the Election Commission of India in electoral rolls, ‘House Number 0’ has become a subject of public curiosity.
In a press conference held about two weeks ago, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the ECI, in collusion with the BJP, had included lakhs of fake voters in electoral rolls across the states. He claimed that many of these voters had a ‘0’ mentioned in place of their house addresses in their voter IDs, instead of specific addresses, and therefore, these were fake voters. To substantiate his allegations, Rahul Gandhi displayed a long document, which he claimed was the electoral roll of the Mahadevpura constituency in Karnataka, and pointed out several voters with house number 0 included therein.
A pointwise rebuttal of Gandhi’s claims was presented by the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, in a press brief on Sunday (17th August). Commenting on the issue of house number 0, the CEC explained that this was a norm followed by the ECI to include homeless people and people who do not have a clearly defined address.
The Election Commission often assigns ‘House Number 0’ or ‘notional addresses’ to include voters without well-defined or permanent residential addresses, such as homeless people, those whose houses have no official numbering, or those who failed to enter their full addresses in electoral forms. Similarly, multiple voters having the same residential addresses can be found in cases of joint families, shared housing or rented accommodations, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas.
The practice of assigning a notional address started in 2013
The practice of assigning house number 0 started in 2013, when the Election Commission decided to provide voter ID cards to homeless people. The decision was first implemented in Delhi, wherein voter ID cards were issued to homeless people for the first time.
A Block District Officer (BDO) told The Indian Express that to be enrolled as a voter, a homeless person is required to fill out Form 6 and provide residence proof of the shelter home he or she lives in, along with their date of birth. After the form is submitted, a BLO visits the address provided by the applicant for verification.
Homeless voters with house number ‘0’ in Delhi
The Indian Express spoke to some voters in the national capital, who have 0 written in place of their house address in their voter IDs. A 67-year-old migrant from West Bengal, Apurba Chatterjee, who works at a store at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Marg, told the media outlet that he stays in a shelter home in Shankar Gali Sita Ram Bazaar, but his house address on his voter ID shows a ‘0’. “I had cast my vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well as the Delhi Assembly elections held this February,” Chatterjee reportedly said.
Another homeless person in his 40s, living in the Rain Basera Bangla Sahib shelter, also told the media outlet that he even opened a bank account using the house address ‘0’. The person reportedly moved from his previous Vasant Kunj residence to the shelter after some personal tragedy. He said that he has cast votes in all elections since 2013 using his voter ID, which mentions his house address as ‘0’.
Darshana, another homeless person, got her voter ID made while living in a shelter in the national capital. Darshana does not have an Aadhaar Card. She came to Delhi from Punjab years ago after her family abandoned her. She earns a living using a weighing machine. She is said to have voted in the last two Lok Sabha elections.
Voters with the House number ‘0’ in Rahul Gandhi’s own constituency
The practice is not limited to Delhi. Voters with house numbers marked as ‘0’ exist in all constituencies, including the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, which has been a stronghold of the Gandhi family. The Rae Bareli constituency has many voters with house numbers marked as ‘0’ and numerous voters with a common address. Does that mean that Rahul Gandhi won his seat using fake voters?
Voters with house number ‘0’ in Karnataka
About a week ago, videos of many voters with house number ‘0’ in the Mahadevpura constituency in Karnataka emerged. In the videos, the voters displayed their voter ID cards, which showed their house addresses marked as ‘0’. Some of these voters had been living in the area for 10-15 years. They said that their houses did not have numbers; therefore, ECI officials mentioned ‘0’ in place of the house number in their voter IDs. Their Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) also mentioned house number 0 in the address field.
Notably, despite ECI clearly asking Rahul Gandhi to file a formal complaint containing his allegations so that an investigation can be initiated, the Leader of the Opposition has not so far filed any formal complaint with any authority. CEC Gyanesh Kumar pointed out during his press brief that Gandhi did not submit any evidence to support his allegations. The question remains as to why Rahul Gandhi, who created a national uproar with allegations of electoral fraud, does not want the allegations to be investigated.
