Several civil society groups in Karnataka have urged Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to intervene in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, warning that lakhs of eligible voters could be excluded.
In a letter dated Monday, August 17, the groups said 1.09 crore voters had been placed in the ASDDO category, comprising those marked Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others. They alleged that nearly half of Bengaluru’s voters could disappear from the electoral rolls, with deletions exceeding 60% in nearly 3,000 polling booths.
The letter, endorsed by actor Prakash Raj and groups including Eddelu Karnataka, Muslim Muthahade Mahaz, Namma Matha Namma Hakku Vedike, Active Bangalore, Nagarika Matha Kavalu Samithi, Ashirvad and Peoples Media Network, claimed that several categories of genuine voters were being wrongly listed for deletion. Elderly people were allegedly being marked as “Dead”, those who had moved for work were being tagged as “Absent”, and voters who made errors while filling out Enumeration Forms were being placed under “Others”.
The groups said voters who had shifted residence after 2002, including those who moved to rented housing, migrated for work or relocated after marriage, were often denied Enumeration Forms and told to enrol afresh instead. A central concern was the alleged unavailability of Form 8, which is used by existing voters to update their address, with such voters instead being directed to fill out Form 6, meant for new enrolments. The organisations called this a violation of Election Commission of India (ECI) rules, arguing that existing voters should not have to re-register simply because they have changed residence.
They also flagged cases of voters being marked “Absent” merely because they were unavailable during Booth Level Officer (BLO) visits. They said minor errors, such as an unsigned form, should not result in voters being placed under “Others”. According to the groups, more than 80% of all deletions fall under the Shifted, Absent and Others categories, with “Shifted” accounting for the largest share, including women who had moved after marriage.
Criticism against ECI for poor preparation
The letter also criticised the Election Commission’s preparations, alleging insufficient public awareness efforts, inadequate BLO training and a rushed rollout that caused confusion. It said the timelines made it practically impossible for BLOs to complete household visits, distribute and collect forms, and upload the data within the stipulated period, and that even two deadline extensions had failed to resolve the problems.
The groups called the scale of deletions in Bengaluru especially alarming, noting that nearly half the electorate could be removed, with deletion rates exceeding 60% in almost 3,000 booths. Despite efforts by civil society groups and party-affiliated Booth Level Agents to assist voters, they described the situation as “unimaginable” and “entirely unacceptable”, warning that completing the revision in this manner would be “a direct attack on Karnataka as a state”.
The organisations made several demands, including extending the Enumeration Form process by three months and carrying out the full SIR exercise over a year, given that no election is imminent in Karnataka. They asked BLOs to conduct fresh door-to-door visits across all booths and contact voters marked Shifted, Absent or Others again rather than deleting them outright. They also sought the issuance of Enumeration Forms and Form 8 to voters who have shifted residence, while Form 6 continues to be used for new voters.
They further demanded that those marked Absent or Others be given another opportunity to correct minor errors before any deletion is finalised. They also called for a robust public awareness campaign, including door-to-door outreach and help desks, to be led by the Election Commission or, should the ECI fail to act, by the state government.
The groups also called for help desks to assist voters with forms and the broader enumeration process.
They said that if the Election Commission rejects these demands, the state government should raise the matter in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, pass a resolution urging the ECI to act, and consider approaching the Supreme Court to protect voters’ interests.
They said the burden of the alleged shortcomings falls disproportionately on poor and middle-class voters and told the Chief Minister: “Protecting them all is your responsibility.”