Karnataka SIR: Final electoral roll out on October 27; net additions remain minuscule

After more than three months of a clean-up drive under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Karnataka’s final electoral roll will be published on October 27. The list will be uploaded on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka.

The exercise, which began with the stated aim of ensuring that no eligible voter was excluded and no ineligible voter remained on the rolls, led to the deletion of 1.07 crore names across the State. Karnataka had 5.54 crore voters when the exercise began. The final roll will have around 4.54 crore voters, with one crore names struck off the rolls. Details on the number of ineligible voters identified, or the count of foreign citizens — another stated aim of the SIR — remain unknown so far.

During the draft roll stage, 16.39 lakh names were deleted on the ground that the voters were dead, while over seven lakh were identified as duplicate entries. Another 3.83 lakh names were deleted under the “Others” category, which is not seen in many other States that conducted the SIR. Even as the exercise comes to an end, the CEO’s office has not clearly explained what the “Others” category comprises, apart from stating that it includes people who refused to sign.

However, the largest category of deletions — 80.62 lakh names — comprised voters who had shifted residence or were not found at their addresses during the enumeration phase. Unlike those identified as dead or duplicate, these voters were not necessarily ineligible to vote. They would have had to apply through Form 6 to have their names restored to the rolls. Yet, only 7,87,534 applications for inclusion were received, a figure that also includes applications from new voters.

The scale of deletions under the SIR has not been offset by additions in any constituency across the State, with applications for inclusion falling far short of the number of names struck off the draft roll.