40% gone: Bengaluru electorate to shrink from 1 crore to 59 lakh

Bengaluru: Electorate size in Bengaluru is set to shrink from a little over 1 crore to around 59 lakh, with nearly 2.2 lakh people submitting Form 6 applications as the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Karnataka enters the home stretch.Bengaluru Urban district electoral officer and Greater Bengaluru Authority chief commissioner Maheshwar Rao said Thursday the draft electoral roll contains 56.9 lakh voters. “Following verification and disposal of applications (including Forms 7 and 8), around 2 lakh voters are expected to be added to the rolls,” he stated.Some 44% of Form 7 applications processed in Bengaluru during SIR have been accepted.Rao indicated the post-SIR rolls could be used for forthcoming GBA elections. “There is no need to panic if some names are missing. Election Commission will take steps to conduct a special drive to include all eligible voters in the list,” he added.EC, in a letter on Oct 9, issued guidelines on handling Form 7 applications. During SIR, the commission allowed booth-level agents (BLAs) to file applications in bulk, with a limit of 50 forms per day before publication of draft electoral rolls and 10 forms per day thereafter.For individual voters, online applications were limited to six at a time. However, the number of physical forms that could be submitted in bulk was left to the discretion of electoral registration officers (EROs). ECI said this had created challenges for field officials.It has now capped the number of Form 7 applications an individual can file at 10 during the claims and objections period and five per month. The limits apply to both online and offline applications.The commission has directed EROs to act under Section 31 of Representation of the People’s Act, 1950, against applicants found to have knowingly made false statements or declarations in Form 7.According to GBA, a total of 5.4 lakh forms (6, 6A, 7 and 8) were received and processed until Sept 23. Eligible applicants who submit forms after Sept 23 will be included in supplementary rolls that will be published subsequently.Tricolour march at 4pm todayCondemning police action in Delhi, student organisations will hold a march on Friday to defend voting rights. The march, with activists carrying Tricolour, will begin from Town Hall at 4pm and end at Quit India Memorial. Several organisations continued their protest against SIR on Thursday, seeking resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They condemned alleged sexual harassment against women protesters.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.