Bengaluru, Oct. 27 -- Nearly 99.32 lakh names have been removed from Karnataka's electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), bringing the state's electorate down from 5.54 crore to 4.55 crore, according to the final voter list published on Tuesday. Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar said the exercise, conducted between June 30 and October 27, involved verification of voter details, disposal of claims and objections, and the addition of eligible electors.
The final electoral roll contains 4,55,00,011 voters, comprising 2,25,83,107 men, 2,29,14,063 women and 2,841 third-gender electors. More than 6.83 lakh voters are aged between 18 and 19, while 3,92,134 are aged 85 or above. The list also includes 3,252 non-resident Indian voters.
Addressing a press conference, Anbukkumar said the draft electoral roll published on August 24 had 4,46,80,151 electors. Since June 16, a total of 8,19,714 electors had been added to the rolls, taking the final count to 4.55 crore after accounting for deletions and other changes. The revision process saw officials receive approximately 26.23 lakh applications between June 16 and October 26. These included 10,62,336 applications through Form 6 for inclusion, 4,872 Form 6A applications from overseas electors, 2,29,235 Form 7 applications for deletion and around 13.27 lakh Form 8 applications for corrections and other changes. Of the applications received, approximately 20.64 lakh were accepted, 3.03 lakh were rejected and 2.55 lakh remained pending. Anbukkumar said all but around 4,000 applications were submitted online. Following publication of the draft roll, 8,77,104 electors were added through Form 6 and another 2,312 through Form 6A. A further 1,28,622 voters were included in their new constituencies through Form 8 applications involving changes of residence. The total additions across these categories were reported at 10,08,038.
Officials also recorded 1,88,324 deletions from the draft roll and made 8,96,519 modifications. Of the deletions, 1,091 involved deceased voters, 184 concerned electors who were absent, and 762 related to duplicate entries or people already enrolled. Changes of residence accounted for 1,24,327 cases, while 61,960 people were found ineligible following notices, inquiries and hearings. The CEO rejected reports that election officials had generated around 60,000 Form 7 applications in bulk to remove voters, allegations that had prompted opposition claims of an attempt to target Muslim electors in several districts.
"There is no provision for the bulk generation of Form 7," Anbukkumar said, adding that each form must be issued in the name of the competent electoral officer after the prescribed inquiry and a reasoned order.
He said authorities had issued notices to approximately 43.8 lakh electors and conducted hearings before deciding on cases involving eligibility. Electoral registration officers and assistant electoral registration officers determined individual cases under the prescribed procedure.
Anbukkumar urged voters to check their details in the final list. Those eligible to vote but missing from the roll should submit Form 6 to seek inclusion, he said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.