Karnataka SIR: 43.80 lakh voters in draft roll may be asked to furnish documents

As many as 1,51,77,155 voters in Karnataka could be flagged under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO), anomalies and no-mapping categories as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls moves into its next crucial stage.

Of these, 43.80 lakh voters have been flagged for anomalies or have no mapping with the previous electoral rolls, according to data as of August 18. These voters will be asked to furnish documents to establish their eligibility before the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).

The 43.80 lakh figure comprises 20,35,312 voters flagged for anomalies and 23,45,428 voters who have no mapping. Of the 5,54,32,314 electors on Karnataka’s rolls as of June 16, 1,07,96,415 have been classified under ASDDO as of August 18. This includes 15,17,056 absent voters, 65,45,721 permanently shifted voters, 16,39,871 deceased voters, 7,09,875 duplicate voters and 3,83,892 in the ‘others’ category.

The next stage will be particularly important for voters in the anomaly and no-mapping categories. They will get an opportunity to establish their eligibility during the claims and objections process after publication of the draft electoral roll on August 24.

The flagged voters will get two opportunities to furnish the required documents before the Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) and District Election Officers (DEOs). The documents will then be verified by the concerned. Voters who fail to appear or furnish the required documents could face deletion of their names from the electoral rolls.

The Election Commission is also planning to increase the number of DEOs and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) to handle the additional workload during the verification process.

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) area accounts for the largest concentration of flagged voters in the state. Of the 1,03,88,363 voters in the GBA, 46,88,744 have been classified under ASDDO. Another 6,24,171 voters have been flagged for anomalies and 17,81,819 have no mapping.

Together, the anomaly and no-mapping categories account for 24,05,990 voters in the GBA. Including ASDDO, 70,94,734 voters in the GBA fall under the three categories.

The 24.06 lakh anomaly and no-mapping cases in the GBA alone account for more than half of the 43.80 lakh such cases across Karnataka, making Bengaluru the biggest focus of the verification exercise.

The focus of the SIR will now shift from house-to-house enumeration to scrutiny and verification of flagged voters. After the claims and objections process and subsequent verification, the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 27.

The next phase will be critical not only for cleaning up the electoral rolls but also for ensuring that genuine voters who have been flagged because of anomalies or lack of mapping are not inadvertently excluded.