Bengaluru: The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls witnessed a chaotic start in Bengaluru’s Chamarajpet Assembly constituency on Tuesday after Congress and BJP representatives clashed over the deployment of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), temporarily halting the voter verification exercise.
The disagreement erupted at the SIR centre as workers from both parties argued over the conduct of the revision process, with Congress alleging inadequate staffing and BJP accusing its rival of obstructing the Election Commission’s work.
Dispute over deployment of Booth Level Officers
According to party representatives, tensions flared after Congress workers alleged that election officials initially interacted only with BJP representatives while overlooking Congress polling agents.
Congress leaders also questioned the deployment of Booth Level Officers, claiming that only 14 BLOs had reported for duty despite 31 officers being scheduled to participate in the exercise.
The party maintained that the verification process should not begin until all designated officers were present.
Congress representatives reportedly informed election officials that the exercise should proceed only after the full complement of BLOs had been deployed to ensure transparency and fairness.
BJP rejects allegations
BJP representatives opposed the Congress objections and argued that the revision process should continue without interruption.
Party workers stated that the BJP had deputed 11 representatives to observe and assist during the exercise and expressed readiness to cooperate with election officials.
The disagreement soon escalated into a heated verbal confrontation between representatives of the two parties, leaving election personnel unable to proceed with the voter verification process.
As a result, the Special Intensive Revision exercise was temporarily stalled in the constituency.
Congress seeks transparency
Following the incident, Congress leaders clarified that they were not opposed to the Special Intensive Revision exercise itself.
Instead, they said their concern was to ensure that the process was conducted transparently, impartially and with adequate manpower.
The party reiterated that proper deployment of Booth Level Officers was essential for carrying out an accurate verification of electoral rolls.
BJP accuses Congress of obstruction
BJP leaders, meanwhile, accused Congress of unnecessarily disrupting an Election Commission exercise.
They maintained that the revision process should be allowed to continue as planned and alleged that attempts to halt the exercise could delay the updating of electoral rolls.
Election officials are expected to engage with representatives of both parties to resolve the issues and resume the verification process smoothly.
Karnataka-wide voter verification begins
The incident coincided with the launch of Karnataka’s statewide Special Intensive Revision, one of the largest voter verification exercises undertaken in the state in nearly 24 years.
The Election Commission has deployed more than 59,000 Booth Level Officers across Karnataka to verify the details of over 5.5 crore registered electors.
The exercise includes door-to-door verification, correction of electoral records, removal of duplicate entries and the inclusion of newly eligible voters.
According to the Election Commission’s schedule, the verification drive will continue until July 29.
The draft electoral roll is scheduled to be published on August 5, while the final electoral roll is expected to be released on October 7 after the completion of claims and objections.
Conclusion
The disruption in Chamarajpet highlighted the political sensitivities surrounding the Special Intensive Revision exercise in Karnataka. While both Congress and BJP have expressed support for updating electoral rolls, disagreements over staffing and implementation briefly halted proceedings. Election officials are expected to work with all stakeholders to ensure the verification exercise proceeds smoothly across the state.