Actor Prakash Raj claims name deleted from Bengaluru electoral rolls during SIR

Actor Prakash Raj claimed on Tuesday that his name was deleted from the electoral rolls in Bengaluru during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka. In a video posted to social media, Raj stated that he is among 65 lakh voters whose voting rights were deleted. He specifically noted that he is registered in the Shantinagar Assembly constituency of Bengaluru Central, where he was born, educated, and previously ran as an MP candidate in 2019. A screenshot of his verification status classified him under the ASDDO (Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate, and Others) category as permanently shifted.

Raj described the situation as a joke and questioned what documents he would need to provide to recover his voter ID. He further suggested that those in power might be using their authority to deny voting rights to citizens who may not elect them. This claim comes as approximately 1.08 crore voters in Karnataka, or nearly 20 percent of the electorate, are on the ASDDO list. In Bengaluru, 49 lakh out of 1.03 crore mapped voters are expected to be dropped from the draft roll. The Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka has extended the enumeration phase to August 17, while the draft electoral roll publication has been deferred to August 24.

Reports also noted that Raj recently received bail from a Bengaluru court in a case involving allegations that he possessed multiple voter ID cards. While center and center-right reports focused on the factual claims and the broader SIR process, the center-left report explicitly framed Raj's comments as a dig at the ruling dispensation at the Centre.