Where did they vanish? Bengaluru loses 44 lakh voters, govt to trace them

BENGALURU: Where did they go? That is the question the state govt wants answered after Bengaluru’s electorate shrank by nearly 44 lakh, from 1.03 crore to 59.1 lakh, in the final roll published on Oct 27 after the special intensive revision (SIR). The 43.1% fall is part of a net deletion of 75 lakh voters across Karnataka.A section of ministers told TOI the govt is likely to come up at Thursday’s cabinet meeting. Congress is using technology to check whether deleted names have been added to other booths or removed from the rolls altogether. “A few lakh may have kept their votes elsewhere, but a straight 50% drop is quite unheard of,” they added.The govt will not rush into accepting or rejecting the roll. “If 65 lakh people have permanently shifted out of their polling stations or constituencies, where have they been added?” one minister asked.They pointed out that ECI stopped accepting Form 6 during the two month exercise, which may have left many unable to enrol at new locations. “Since Karnataka has time until the next general elections, we will identify those who may have been disenfranchised or shifted but could not enrol at their new booths,” they said. One minister called the SIR exclusionary. “We will have to study the final roll and take a judicious decision on those removed,” he added.Home and IT-BT minister Priyank Kharge said the process was designed to favour the BJP. “The SIR is a flawed process, and we will review the final list. In Chittapura alone, Form 7 was distributed for 40 people, and this has been established. A complaint has been registered. Prima facie, a few communities are being targeted,” he said.The Greater Bengaluru Authority’s final roll has 28.7 lakh men, 30.4 lakh women and 674 voters in the other category. Nearly 47 lakh names were listed under the absent, shifted, dead, duplicate and others (ASDDO) category across 28 constituencies. Of these, 32.7 lakh were marked permanently shifted, over 7 lakh absent, over 3 lakh dead and 63,549 duplicates.Bengaluru South saw the most deletions at over 3.6 lakh, followed by Mahadevapura (nearly 3 lakh), Bommanahalli (over 2.6 lakh) and KR Puram (over 2.5 lakh). All four are held by BJP MLAs. Shivajinagar, with a sizeable minority population, lost 81,236 names. Last year, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had alleged large-scale inclusion of fake voters in Mahadevapura ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.Chief electoral officer V Anbukkumar said Tuesday that no eligible voter was deleted merely because Form 7 applications were submitted in bulk, and that eligible Form 6 applicants were included after verification. “There should be no apprehension that eligible voters have been left out arbitrarily. The process has been transparent and lawful,” he said.He said fewer than 1,000 foreigners had been detected, most of them reportedly from Nepal. The rolls will continue to be updated after publication of the final list, he added.BoxGovt should not accept SIR final electoral roll, says civil societyThe anti-SIR coalition in Karnataka Wednesday urged the state govt to not accept the final electoral roll prepared through the special integrated revision (SIR) process in the state. Noor Sridhar, a leader of the Coalition, demanded that a social audit, public hearing, and public scrutiny be conducted regarding this process. Addressing the media, the coalition pointed at the flaws in the SIR process—including allegations that the names of eligible voters have been dropped from the list—and the resulting impact on the right to vote be taken seriously. Indhudhar Honnapura, a DSS activist and noted writer, said the ECI made a mountain of haystack and lashed out at the massive expenditure to carry out an unscientific process which excludes people and has not seen many illegal migrants identified.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Bengaluru | Silver Rate in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru | Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Petrol Price in Bengaluru | Diesel Price in Bengaluru | CNG Price in Bengaluru | LPG Price in BengaluruStay updated with the latest Bengaluru news. Download the TOI App.