Karnataka final electoral roll records nearly 99.32 lakh fewer voters after SIR

Bengaluru, Oct 27 : Karnataka's final electoral roll, published on Tuesday following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), has recorded 4.55 crore electors, marking a decline of nearly 99.32 lakh from the 5.54 crore voters registered before the revision exercise.

According to figures released by the state election authorities, the final roll comprises 4,54,55,689 general electors and 44,322 service electors, taking the total electorate to 4,55,00,011.

Addressing a press conference, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V Anbukkumar clarified that 61,960 Form 7 applications were generated by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and other authorised officials following hearings and the issuance of speaking orders in cases where electors were found ineligible. He denied allegations of bulk generation of Form 7 forms, stating that each case was processed individually in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

Form 7 is used to seek the deletion of names from electoral rolls. The CEO said there was no provision for bulk generation of such applications and maintained that the deletions were carried out only after due scrutiny and hearings.

The Election Commission said notices had been issued to approximately 43.82 lakh electors during the revision process to verify discrepancies and establish their eligibility before publication of the final roll.

The draft electoral roll, published on August 24, had recorded 4,46,80,150 electors against 5,54,32,314 before the revision. The final electorate has now increased to 4,55,00,011. However, the authorities did not provide a consolidated category-wise explanation for the overall net reduction of 99.32 lakh voters.

Between June 16 and October 26, the Commission received 26,23,875 applications under Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8. These included 10,62,336 Form 6 applications for inclusion of names, 4,872 Form 6A applications, 2,29,235 Form 7 applications seeking deletion and 13,27,432 Form 8 applications for corrections and other modifications.

Of the total applications received, 20.64 lakh were accepted, 3.03 lakh rejected and 2.55 lakh remained pending. More than 99 per cent of the applications were submitted online, the CEO said, attributing the response to voter awareness initiatives and a special enrolment drive.

The authorities reported 1,88,324 deletions from the draft roll during the subsequent revision process. These included 1,24,327 cases involving shifting of residence, 61,960 cases in which electors were found ineligible following hearings, 1,091 deaths, 184 cases of absence and 762 duplicate enrolments.

Explaining the procedure, Anbukkumar said that when an elector shifts residence and applies through Form 8, the name is transferred to the new constituency and deleted from the previous constituency. Such cases, he clarified, should not be confused with deletions made following hearings on voter eligibility.

He added that the 61,960 cases were processed by competent officials after issuing notices and conducting hearings, followed by speaking orders before the names were removed from the electoral roll.

The final electoral roll comprises 2,25,83,107 male voters, 2,29,14,063 female voters and 2,741 third-gender electors. It