New CEC Om Prakash Rawat supports linking of voter ID with Aadhaar

India's new Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat has said that he supports linking of Aadhaar with voter identity cards, according to a report by The Economic Times.

Speaking about the reforms being initiated by the poll authority, Rawat said that he supports linking Aadhaar to voters' identity cards as it would establish the identity before a voter enters the booth and accesses an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).

"The identification will be foolproof then," Rawat told the newspaper.

"I, however, don't want any change in EVMs to integrate this feature. The EVM must remain a standalone machine with no connection to any other device or to the Internet," he added.

The 64-year-old also said that the EC has been considering if migrants from one state can vote in another state, like voters from the armed forces.

Rawat, who will take over as the 22nd chief of India's Election Commission on Tuesday, will be the CEC until December 2, 2018.

During his tenure, Rawat will oversee eight Assembly elections beginning with Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya in February, followed by Karnataka in April-May and finally Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram later this year.

"As CEC, my priority will be to have a continuity of delivering free, fair and credible elections through the engagement of all stakeholders and to build consensus on poll reforms," Rawat told the newspaper.

Rawat is assuming the role of the CEC at a time when the EC's decision of suspending 20 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made headlines.