SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Bengaluru: Karnataka’s final electoral roll, released on Tuesday, October 27, after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), has recorded a steep decline in the number of registered voters, with 99.32 lakh names excluded from the list.
The state’s electorate has dropped from 5.54 crore before the revision to 4.55 crore in the final list. The scale of the reduction is expected to intensify discussion about the verification process and its impact on eligible voters.
The SIR exercise began on June 30. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) carried out door-to-door verification to check voter details and identify entries requiring correction or removal.
The revised roll contains approximately 2.29 crore women voters, compared with 2.25 crore men. Women therefore constitute the larger group among those retained on the electoral rolls. The list also includes over 6.83 lakh young voters aged 18-19 and 2,841 third-gender voters.
As part of the exercise, 43.82 lakh notices were issued over discrepancies found in enumeration forms. The Election Commission also received 10.42 lakh Form 6 applications for the registration of new voters.
More than one crore names were classified under the absent, shifted, dead and duplicate (ASDD) categories following the door-to-door verification conducted by BLOs.
The final figures represent a substantial change in the state’s electoral database. However, the exclusion of such a large number of names raises questions about the circumstances behind the deletions, the resolution of discrepancies and the steps available to eligible citizens who may have been left out.
The revision is intended to update electoral records, but ensuring that every eligible citizen can exercise the right to vote remains crucial. The reasons for the reduction and the effectiveness of the process are likely to remain under public and political scrutiny.
SOURCE : SIASAT
