Karnataka SIR battle moves to booths, Hariprasad warns BJP

Bengaluru, Sept 27 : The electoral-roll battle in Karnataka is moving to the grassroots, with senior Congress leader B K Hariprasad signalling that the party will turn its opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) into a booth-level campaign.

Addressing a Congress protest here, Hariprasad said the party would scrutinise voter deletions and work at the grassroots to ensure that eligible voters retain their names on the electoral rolls.

“Whatever strategy was adopted in Bihar cannot be repeated in Karnataka,” he said, asserting that people of the state would not allow their voting rights to be taken away.

Hariprasad alleged that the SIR exercise had resulted in large-scale deletion of names from electoral rolls and claimed that vulnerable sections could be particularly affected.

Instead of limiting its opposition to political rhetoric, the Congress plans to identify voters affected by deletions and take up their cases at the grassroots level, he said.

The move could turn the electoral-roll revision into a sustained organisational exercise for the Congress, with party workers expected to monitor changes in voter lists and assist those seeking restoration of their names.

Hariprasad also stepped up his criticism of the Election Commission, alleging that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had taken certain decisions unilaterally during the revision process. He further claimed that differences had emerged within the Commission over several decisions and alleged that changes linked to the electoral-roll exercise were made despite objections.

The SIR has emerged as a fresh political flashpoint in Karnataka, with the Congress questioning the manner and implications of the revision, while the Election Commission maintains that electoral-roll revision is part of its constitutional mandate.

Hariprasad said the Congress would continue its mobilisation against the SIR and work to ensure that eligible voters were able to safeguard their names on the electoral rolls.