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The ruling Congress in Karnataka has raised concerns over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, warning that more than 84 lakh voters, around 15% of the state’s mapped electorate, could face deletion from the draft electoral roll scheduled to be published on August 17.
In a petition submitted to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V Anbukumar on Wednesday, July 29, Congress urged the Election Commission to conduct a second round of physical verification before removing any names from the electoral rolls. The party said deleting voters without thorough verification could result in genuine and eligible citizens losing their right to vote.
Congress sought that no voter be deleted solely based on a single house visit or incomplete verification. It also demanded that every affected voter be given adequate notice and an opportunity to respond before any deletion is finalised.
Data from the CEO’s office shows that of the 5.54 crore voters mapped before the SIR exercise began on June 30, 84.31 lakh voters have been categorised under ASDDO (Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others) following door-to-door verification by Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
The largest category is those classified as permanently shifted, with 51.74 lakh voters falling under this category. This is followed by 14.99 lakh voters marked dead, 11.61 lakh marked absent, and 5.62 lakh classified as already enrolled or duplicate entries. Around 33,000 voters fall under the “other” category.
The four electoral districts that comprise Bengaluru account for more than half of the total ASDDO list in Karnataka, according to the data.
Responding to the Congress’ concerns, CEO V Anbukumar said the SIR process is being carried out as per legal procedures and that every flagged entry is supported by documentation.
“In all death cases, we have either a death certificate or a spot mahazar signed by at least one Booth Level Agent (BLA). Similarly, we conduct a spot mahazar for every ASDDO case,” Anbukumar said.
He added that even in cases where voters refused to sign enumeration forms, mahazar documents were prepared by BLAs or BLO supervisors. The ASDDO lists have also been shared with representatives of all political parties, he said.
Anbukumar said several voters have been classified under the ASDDO category because they were not found at the address where their voter ID was registered. He added that voters whose names do not appear in the draft roll will have an opportunity to seek re-inclusion by filing Form 6 during the claims and objections period.
The deadline for door-to-door distribution and collection of enumeration forms, initially set for July 29, has been extended to August 8 by the Election Commission of India (ECI) due to delays in Bengaluru districts.
