That is the question the state govt wants answered after Bengaluru’s electorate shrank by nearly 44 lakh, from 1.03 crore to 59.1 lakh, in the final roll published on Oct 27 after the special intensive revision (SIR). The 43.1% fall is part of a net deletion of 75 lakh voters across Karnataka . Bengaluru: Where did they go?
Because form 7 applications were submitted in bulk, and that eligible Form 6 applicants were included after verification, chief electoral officer V Anbukkumar said Tuesday that no eligible voter was deleted merely.
“If 65 lakh people have permanently shifted out of their polling stations or constituencies, where have they been added?” one minister asked. The process has been transparent and lawful,” he said. The govt will not rush into accepting or rejecting the roll. “There should be no apprehension that eligible voters have been left out arbitrarily.
In Chittapura alone, Form 7 was distributed for 40 people, and this has been established. The Greater Bengaluru Authority’s final roll has 28.7 lakh men, 30.4 lakh women and 674 voters in the other category. Nearly 47 lakh names were listed under the absent, shifted, dead, duplicate and others (ASDDO) category across 28 constituencies. Of these, 32.7 lakh were marked permanently shifted, over 7 lakh absent, over 3 lakh dead and 63,549 duplicates. Bengaluru South saw the most deletions at over 3.6 lakh, followed by Mahadevapura (nearly 3 lakh), Bommanahalli (over 2.6 lakh) and KR Puram (over 2.5 lakh). Shivajinagar, with a sizeable minority population, lost 81,236 names. Last year, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had alleged large-scale inclusion of fake voters in Mahadevapura ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“We will have to study the final roll and take a judicious decision on those removed,” he added. Home and IT-BT minister Priyank Kharge said the process was designed to favour the BJP . Prima facie, a few communities are being targeted,” he said.
One minister called the SIR exclusionary. “The SIR is a flawed process, and we will review the final list. A complaint has been registered. All four are held by BJP MLAs.
Indhudhar Honnapura, a DSS activist and noted writer, said the ECI made a mountain of haystack and lashed out at the massive expenditure to carry out an unscientific process which excludes people and has not seen many illegal migrants identified. The anti-SIR coalition in Karnataka Wednesday urged the state govt to not accept the final electoral roll prepared through the special integrated revision (SIR) process in the state. Noor Sridhar, a leader of the Coalition, demanded that a social audit, public hearing, and public scrutiny be conducted regarding this process. Addressing the media, the coalition pointed at the flaws in the SIR process—including allegations that the names of eligible voters have been dropped from the list—and the resulting impact on the right to vote be taken seriously.