Linking Aadhaar to your electoral roll entry is done with Form 6B. The single most important thing to know about it is that it is voluntary, and that nothing can be taken away from you for declining.
What the law actually says
The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 allows an Electoral Registration Officer to seek an elector’s Aadhaar number for the purpose of establishing identity, on a voluntary basis. Collection began in August 2022.
The safeguard is explicit and worth quoting in substance: no application for inclusion may be refused, and no existing entry may be deleted, because a person is unable or unwilling to furnish an Aadhaar number.
If anyone tells you that your name will be struck off unless you link Aadhaar, that is wrong.
If you do not have Aadhaar, or do not wish to give it
Form 6B lets you tick that you cannot furnish an Aadhaar number and attach one other listed document instead. The accepted list has included an MGNREGA job card, a bank or post office passbook with photograph, a driving licence, an Indian passport, a pension document with photograph, a service identity card, and an official identity card issued to an MP, MLA or MLC.
What it is for
The stated purpose is authentication of entries, principally to identify the same person registered in more than one place. Duplicate entries arise honestly, usually when someone registers afresh after moving instead of filing Form 8 to shift their entry.
It is not a change to who may vote. Eligibility still rests on citizenship, age and ordinary residence.
Two things to be clear-eyed about
Consent cannot be withdrawn. There is no provision for taking back an Aadhaar number once given through Form 6B. Treat it as a one-way decision.
The number must not be published. Section 37 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 applies, and Aadhaar numbers are required to be removed or masked in any public display of the roll. If you find one exposed, that is a reportable failure.
How to file it, if you choose to
Online at voters.eci.gov.in under Form 6B, or on paper through your Booth Level Officer. You will need your EPIC number.
Use only the ECI domain. An Aadhaar number handed to a third-party site that offers to link it for you is a serious thing to lose control of.
If you have already linked and have concerns
There is no mechanism to withdraw the consent given through Form 6B, so the realistic options are narrower than people hope.
What you can do is check what is actually published. Your Aadhaar number should not appear in any public copy of the electoral roll, in a downloadable part list, or on a state Chief Electoral Officer’s website. If you find it exposed, raise it with the Electoral Registration Officer for your constituency and with the Commission, because publication is a failure of an obligation that exists in law.
Your entry itself is unaffected either way. Linking does not change your constituency, your part and serial number, or your polling station.
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