As Karnataka moves into the final stages of distributing enumeration forms for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the responsibility of verifying voters who are unaccounted for by the Election Commission has now largely been delegated to recognized political parties. This shift emphasizes the importance of their booth-level organizational structures in the revision process.
As of Monday, approximately 94.23% of the state’s total electorate, which is 5.54 crore, has been processed. The Election Commission has identified over 9.37 lakh electors categorized as absent, shifted, deceased, duplicate, or otherwise untraceable during the field verification phase. Political parties have been tasked with confirming the status of these voters prior to any further actions.
The Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have been sharing weekly updates of these electors, referred to as the absentee, shifted, dead, duplicate, and others (ASDDO) group, with major political parties such as the Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
Role of Political Parties in Voter Verification
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for Karnataka, V. Anbu Kumar, stated that political parties are authorized to evaluate information gathered by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and report any discrepancies or missing information to the Election Commission.
In response, political factions have activated their Booth Level Agents (BLAs), local leaders, and grassroots workers to validate the names included in the ASDDO lists. This includes visiting polling station areas to engage with residents and verify the classification of voters reported as deceased, permanently shifted, absent, or untraceable.
This verification initiative holds considerable significance as entries categorized under ASDDO are listed separately and pending further scrutiny. Election officials indicated that these lists will undergo additional verification before any decisions regarding the electoral rolls are made.
Monitoring the Revision Process
Party officials confirmed that directions have been circulated throughout their organizational networks to ensure careful oversight of the revision process, with an emphasis on preventing the erroneous exclusion of eligible voters while also identifying inaccurate or duplicate entries. Additionally, this verification effort is being controlled and monitored at the state level.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson V.R. Sudarshan mentioned that the party has initiated its booth-level mobilization strategy to closely monitor the SIR of electoral rolls. The BLAs have been directed to maintain vigilance during this period, scrutinizing grassroots entries and reporting any inconsistencies to election authorities.
BJP’s SIR coordinator S. Dattatri stated that, to date, no discrepancies have been found in the ASDDO list. “Our BLAs have intensified monitoring at the booth level. So far, the ASDDO classification appears to be accurate. However, we will see how things unfold upon completion of the exercise,” he remarked.
Goals of the SIR Exercise
Election officials reiterated that the SIR initiative aims to enhance the accuracy of electoral rolls by identifying duplicate, deceased, permanently shifted, and otherwise ineligible entries, while ensuring the inclusion of all eligible voters. They stressed that any proposed removals from the rolls would follow due process as outlined by election laws, which includes field verification and providing an opportunity for affected electors to respond where necessary.
