Bengaluru: Nearly half of Bengaluru’s registered voters have been marked for possible exclusion from Karnataka’s draft electoral roll under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to data released by the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
The data shows that 49.42 lakh of Bengaluru’s 1.03 crore registered voters have been classified under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate or Other (ASDDO) category during the voter verification exercise. Across Karnataka, 1.11 crore electors, or around one in every five registered voters, have been similarly flagged.
Bommanahalli records highest proportion
Among Bengaluru’s Assembly constituencies, Bommanahalli recorded the highest percentage of voters placed under the ASDDO category, with 2.76 lakh electors (57.08%) identified for possible exclusion.
Other constituencies where more than half of the electorate has been flagged include Vijayanagar (53.66%), Dasarahalli (53.55%), BTM Layout (53.43%), and C.V. Raman Nagar (53.25%).
In terms of absolute numbers, Bangalore South topped the list with 3.84 lakh voters (48.99%) under the ASDDO category, followed by Mahadevapura, where 3.13 lakh voters (45.66%) were similarly classified.
Yelahanka recorded the lowest proportion among Bengaluru’s 28 Assembly constituencies, with 1.81 lakh voters (38.01%) flagged.
Voters can seek corrections
Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbukumar said the ASDDO lists have been shared with all seven recognised political parties in Karnataka.
He urged voters who believe they have been wrongly categorised to seek corrections before August 8. According to the CEO, every ASDDO entry is supported by a spot mahazar signed by at least one booth-level agent representing a recognised political party.
The Election Commission has also launched an online portal where voters can verify whether they have been classified under the ASDDO category. Those wrongly marked can approach their Booth Level Officer (BLO), establish that they continue to reside at their registered address and submit an enumeration form for correction.
Draft roll on August 17
The Election Commission has also identified 34.17 lakh voters under the “No Mapping” category, whose details could not be matched during enumeration. These electors will receive individual notices for verification.
The draft electoral roll will be published on August 17, after which voters will have until October 15 to submit claims and objections using any of the 11 approved identity documents, including Aadhaar, passport, PAN card, driving licence and MGNREGA job card.
While the Election Commission says the SIR exercise aims to prepare accurate and inclusive electoral rolls by removing duplicate, deceased and ineligible entries, the exercise has drawn criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups, which have expressed concerns that genuine voters could be inadvertently excluded.