At least 61% of surveyed Bengaluru residents are unaware of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, civil society groups have found.
My Vote, My Right, a coalition of civil society groups, conducted a three-day survey titled ‘SIR Janajagruti Jaatha’. A total of 138 people were surveyed across Jayanagar 4th Block, 9th Block – Mangammanapalya, Virat Nagar, Tilaknagar, Madiwala Market, and other areas.
The My Vote, My Right coalition is attempting to create awareness of the SIR process that began on June 20 in Karnataka.
About 65% of the surveyed voters said that they do not know how to find their names on the 2002 electoral list. Only those with some technological knowledge were aware of how to access the 2002 list.
Among respondents who are aware of the SIR process, 61.8% did not know if they had been mapped.
47 of 138 (34%) surveyed voters only have Aadhaar cards. They also did not know that their ration cards are not among the 11 documents mandated by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
They are now in danger of being deleted if they are not mapped or if they fall under the logical discrepancy list, the survey further said.
The ECI mandates any of the 11 following documents: Passport, birth certificate, educational certificates, permanent residence certificate (PRC), Government Service ID or pensioner card, Pre-1987 Gov/PSU document (ID/certificate/bank passbook), caste or community certificate, forest rights certificate, land/house allotment certificate, family register, and NRC extract.
32% of respondents have their matriculation certificates, 29.9% have birth certificates, 24.8% have passports, and 13.1% have caste certificates.
Many respondents do not have Voter IDs and are confused about how to acquire one. Notably, many of the surveyed women said that they are relying on their parents, husbands or children to help them with their documentation.
Some respondents alleged the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are asking for bribes. Others believed that the SIR is only required to identify foreign citizens.
The My Vote, My Right coalition has now called on Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer V Anbu Kumar to hold a public awareness meeting.
They have also asked Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to help voters collect their necessary documents and ensure that no eligible voters are left out of voting. A memorandum containing the demands, along with the signatures collected during the awareness campaign, will be submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer and the Karnataka government in the coming days.
This article was written by a student interning with TNM.
