Bengaluru’s voter apathy surfaces again, this time during SIR

Bengaluru’s long-standing voter apathy is once again on display during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. 

The Election Commission has nearly completed the distribution of enumeration forms, the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA) has emerged as the state’s slowest performer in digitising completed forms, exposing the city’s disconnected attitude with the electoral process.

According to Chief Electoral Officer Anbukumar, 99.7 per cent of the 1.03 crore voters in the Greater Bengaluru Area have received their enumeration forms. Only around 30 per cent of the returned forms have been digitised, far below the state average of 66.35 per cent.

The sluggish progress comes despite Karnataka nearing saturation in form distribution. As of July 22, election officials had distributed 99.89 per cent of the 5.5 crore forms printed across the state, leaving only about 61,000 voters yet to receive them. Nearly 1.4 crore voters across Karnataka are still to return their forms before the enumeration phase ends.

Election officials attribute Bengaluru’s poor numbers partly to the unusually high number of ASDDO (Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others) cases. Bengaluru alone accounts for 44.84 lakh ASDDO cases, making verification far more time-consuming than elsewhere in Karnataka.

The issue of large number of AASDDO was also raised by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, he alleged that around 13,000 voters in Bommanahalli had been categorised as permanently shifted without proper field verification. Responding to the charge, Anbukumar said mahazars had been conducted in all ASDDO cases. The verification process, he said, involved Booth Level Officers obtaining signatures from neighbours, Booth Level Agents or supervisors to certify the findings.

Officials are also examining complaints from Varthur and Mahadevapura, where several voters reported that part numbers were missing from their enumeration forms.

Relatively low electoral participation compared with many other parts of Karnataka in a city with mobile workforce, frequent changes of residence, gated communities and a large migrant population have complicated the SIR process in Bengaluru.

Election officials insist the current phase is as much about improving the quality of the electoral rolls as increasing coverage. “Quality check is vital in this phase,” Anbukumar said, urging political parties to scrutinise the list of ASDDO voters and report errors instead of waiting until the claims and objections stage.

To accelerate the exercise, political parties’ BLA-2 representatives have been authorised to submit filled and signed enumeration forms directly to Booth Level Officers. Special weekend drives are also being organised to improve digitisation rates.

The CEO also clarified that voters who could not submit forms because they had shifted residence need not worry. Once the draft electoral rolls are published on August 8, they can apply for inclusion at their new address by submitting Form 6 either online or offline.

Another issue closely watched during the exercise is the use of Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs). While the document has triggered political debate in Karnataka. PRCs are among the documents that Electoral Registration Officers may consider only during the claims and objections stage after notices are issued. The final decision on accepting any document rests with the Electoral Registration Officer.

With just over two weeks left for enumeration, Bengaluru’s numbers suggest that the state’s biggest city continues to treat electoral process with the same indifference it has often shown on polling day.