AGARTALA, March 20 (TIWN): Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) SK Rakesh on Thrusday held a meeting with all the political parties of the state to apprise them about the recently launched National Electoral Rolls Purification & Authentication Programme (NERPAP) in India. He said the meeting "NERPAP was launched in most parts of the country on March 3. It would start in Tripura on April 1 through a door-to-door campaign. After completion of the programme, duplication of names of electors in the electoral list would be almost zero." However later CEO SK Rakesh appealed the political representatives who remained present during the meeting for their active support in the campaign."The 'Aadhaar' number and other contact detail seeding NERPAP (National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme) has been launched country-wide and it would continue till August 15," Tripura Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjay Kumar Rakesh told the political representatives today holding a meeting at the civil secretariat conference hall no. 2. To ensure error-free voter-lists and eliminate duplication of names, the Election Commission has launched a nation-wide drive NERPAP which will continue till mid-August, he said.

According to Election Commission statistics, 85 million names on India's electoral rolls are either fake or duplicate. Rakesh said that under the Representation of People's Act, getting registered in the voters' list at more than one place is a punishable offence.

"To make NERPAP successful, special camps once a month on a Sunday, door-to-door campaign and various other types of publicity would be conducted to make the people aware and to participate in the programme," he added. However later following the NERPAP campaign the political reprentatives agreeing to the link of the Aadhar no. with the electoral roll, said that if it works to restrict fake voters in the state it would benefit the election to be free and fare. Asked by the political parties today the CEO SK Rakesh clarified that the as of now it is not mandatory to link Aadhar number to the electoral roll. If anyone is interested to put his or her Aadhar number than they can apply for it, said Rakesh today. Adding to that he also said that though after six months it will become mandatory. The Aadhar issue will not at all hamper the ADC election drawing near, Rakesh said.

The BJP, INC, INPT, CPI (M), CPI, FB, and TMC representatives today participated in the meeting held at the civil secretariat.