SIR in Karnataka
Bengaluru: Just 10.07 lakh Form 6 applications for inclusion in Karnataka ’s electoral rolls have been received since the rolls were frozen on June 16 for the special intensive revision (SIR) — barely 9% of the 1.07 crore voters struck off the draft rolls under the ASDDO (absent, shifted, dead or duplicate) category. For voters deleted under ASDDO, filing Form 6 as a new voter was the only route back onto the rolls before the claims and objections deadline of Sept 23. Of the total applications received, 7.86 lakh came in before the deadline, chief electoral officer Anbu Kumar had said earlier. Form 6 has been made available to all voters not enrolled elsewhere, including those in the ASDDO category. The CEO’s office plans a mop-up exercise after the final SIR rolls are published on Oct 27 to enrol voters who were missed.
Because the database was now with the Election Commission of India (ECI), and the state office no longer had access to it, an official from the CEO’s office said Friday that this couldn’t be calculated. The 9% figure, therefore, overstates the recovery, as Form 6 is also used by first-time voters never on the rolls. Once verified and processed, these applicants will also be included in the final SIR rolls. However, the number of applicants who were actually deleted under ASDDO remains unknown. With the final rolls due in days, the low return rate — particularly in Bengaluru’s urban constituencies — is likely to draw scrutiny over how many eligible voters may be left out of the revised list.