EC to hold special weekend campaigns as SIR extended till August 8

Extending the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls till August 8, the Election Commission announced special weekend camps across Karnataka to help voters receive, fill and submit their enumeration forms.

Local requirements

Addressing presspersons on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer for Karnataka V. Anbu Kumar said the mode of the campaign would be decided by district election officials based on local requirements. In some places, help desks would be set up at polling stations, while in others Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would visit households to assist voters.

“The objective is to ensure that every eligible voter receives the enumeration form and is able to submit it without difficulty. The mode of the campaign will be informed to voters through SWEEP activities,” he said.

SIR schedule revised

Following demands from various quarters and a letter from the CEO, the Election Commission of India (ECI) revised the SIR schedule. Under the revised programme, house-to-house visits by BLOs will continue till August 8, the same day on which the rationalisation and reorganisation of polling stations will be completed. The draft electoral roll will be published on August 17; claims and objections can be filed from August 17 to September 16; the disposal of claims and objections will continue till October 15, and the final electoral roll will be published on October 19.

95.69% distribution completed

Mr. Anbu Kumar said the revision exercise had crossed its halfway stage in terms of fieldwork. As of Wednesday, 95.69% of enumeration forms, amounting to over 5.30 crore forms, had been distributed, while 2.25 crore forms (40.70%) had already been digitised.

He said election officials had identified 14.49 lakh electors under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) category. The lists have been shared with recognised political parties through their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for cross-verification, he said.

“All Electoral Registration Officers have been directed to provide the ASDDO lists to recognised political parties. We have asked the BLOs to hold regular meetings with BLAs. If any elector has been wrongly categorised, the mistake can be rectified after verification. We request all political parties to carefully verify these lists,” he said.

The CEO added that progress reports on the SIR exercise were being shared with political parties every two hours to ensure transparency.

100% in 13 districts

According to Mr. Anbu Kumar, 13 districts have completed 100% distribution of enumeration forms. Several districts have also crossed the 50% mark in digitisation, with Chickballapur leading at 64%, followed by Haveri (62%) and Kolar (59%).

In the Greater Bengaluru Area, overall distribution has reached 79%, while digitisation stands at around 7.5%, with officials expecting the pace to improve in the coming weeks.

Mr. Anbu Kumar urged voters who have already received the forms to fill them, sign them and hand them over to the BLOs without delay.

He also clarified that those who attain the age of 18 years on or before October 1 can apply for inclusion in the electoral rolls during the claims and objections period after the publication of the draft roll.