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Despite a “No mapping” notice being generated for Kannada actor Shivarajkumar during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, he was not served with it since he is a VIP voter, officials said.
Shivarajkumar is a voter in the 152-Byatarayanapura Assembly constituency in Bengaluru. His 2002 electoral roll details were not provided in his Enumeration Form, resulting in his record being marked under the “No mapping” category,
“However, no notice was issued to him as he is a VIP voter,” said Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar on Friday, September 11.
TNM had previously reported how several prominent Bengaluru residents, including Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, Bharat Ratna awardee CNR Rao, Zerodha founders Nikhil and Nithin Kamath, and their mother Revathi Kamath, among others, have been flagged by the Election Commission during the ongoing revision of Karnataka’s electoral rolls.
The cases have also drawn attention to the starkly different experience of VIP voters and ordinary electors during the SIR process.
Officials contacted Shivarajkumar after the notice was generated, following which he provided a copy of his passport, which records his name as Shivaputtaswamy, son of Muthuraj. He requested that the name be entered in the electoral roll accordingly.
Election officials then visited his residence behind Manyata Tech Park in Bengaluru to verify his details. The team included the Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner and Additional District Election Officer, the Joint Commissioner of Bengaluru North City Corporation, the Electoral Registration Officer and Assistant Electoral Registration Officer of the Byatarayanapura constituency, and a BLO supervisor.
His request to update his name will be processed through Form 8 after the final electoral roll is published, the election authorities said.
Disparity in process for VIP and ordinary voters
While hearings for prominent citizens have been conducted at their homes for their convenience, ordinary voters, including elderly people, sick electors and persons with disabilities, have in several cases been required to travel to hearing venues and appear in person.
At several hearing venues, senior citizens and persons with disabilities were seen waiting for hours, first to meet the ERO and then to have their notices scanned and documents checked. Some voters said they were unclear about which documents were required and whether originals or copies had to be submitted.
In several cases, voters had to make repeated trips after officials sought additional documents, while some hearings were rescheduled when the documents submitted were considered insufficient.
Until now, the system required the elector named in the notice to personally attend the hearing and submit the required documents. This posed particular difficulties for those who were elderly, unwell, unable to travel, had work commitments that clashed with hearing timings or were living overseas.
The disparity has drawn criticism, with VIP voters being given the convenience of having officials visit their homes, while those who may have greater difficulty travelling have had to navigate crowded hearing centres and lengthy waits.
Against this backdrop, the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer’s office on September 11 issued a directive allowing an adult family member of a senior citizen, sick elector, overseas elector or person with a disability to appear before the ERO or AERO on their behalf and submit the required documents and information.
The order means such electors will no longer necessarily have to appear personally at the hearing. However, it comes after several days in which elderly and vulnerable voters had already been attending hearings in person.
Under the September 11 memo, an adult family member can appear before the ERO or AERO on behalf of the elector and submit the required documents and information for disposal of the notice.
The CEO’s office has also directed EROs and AEROs to explain the procedure followed for issuing and disposing of notices during their weekly meetings with political parties.
Karnataka is among the states and Union Territories covered in the third phase of the SIR. The exercise was first conducted in Bihar in 2025 before being expanded to other states and Union Territories.
The revision has triggered concerns over the possible exclusion of genuine voters from electoral rolls. The Supreme Court has upheld the legality of the exercise while stating that the SIR does not give the Election Commission the power to determine whether a person is an Indian citizen.
