Karnataka Election Commission to Issue Notices to 43.8 Lakh Voters

The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Karnataka will serve notices to 43.8 lakh voters as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The notice phase, which includes the disposal of objections and claims, is scheduled to run from August 24 to October 22. Out of the 5.54 crore voters mapped for the exercise, 1.07 crore were already excluded under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate, and Other (ASDDO) category.

The 43.8 lakh voters receiving notices are divided into two groups. Approximately 20.35 lakh are classified as having logical discrepancies or anomalies, while 23.45 lakh fall under a no mapping category. Those in the no mapping group were either not present during the last SIR or are not progeny of voters from that period. The logical discrepancies span nine categories, including implausible age gaps between parents and children, high progeny counts of six or more children, and differences in recorded names between the current roll and the previous SIR. One source notes that spelling variations in a father's name can also trigger a discrepancy flag.

A significant portion of these notices is concentrated in Bengaluru, with 24.05 lakh notices being served in the city. Specifically, high percentages of voters will receive notices in the CV Raman Nagar, KR Puram, Bangalore South, and Shantinagar constituencies. Outside of Bengaluru, districts such as Mandya, Kolar, Dakshina Kannada, and Chikkamagaluru also reported high numbers of logical discrepancies. In Mandya, 1.30 lakh discrepancies were recorded, which exceeds the 1.12 lakh reported in BBMP South.