BENGALURU, Sept. 26 -- Chief minister D K Shivakumar on Friday backed the demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Meanwhile, the state's special intensive revision of electoral rolls entered a crucial stage with 4.163 million notices already delivered to voters.

Shivakumar said the revision process itself was necessary but objected to its alleged political use, and said eligible voters should be protected from being excluded. "We are living in the largest democratic country; this is not a dictatorship. No one is satisfied with this SIR. SIR should be done, no doubt about it, but the way it is being used politically is very wrong. So we are asking them to just give rights to everyone who is eligible," he t...