The last such exercise in Karnataka was conducted in 2002. The latest one comes on the heels of "vote chori" allegations by the Congress party.
Published Sep 17, 2025 | 7:43 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 17, 2025 | 7:43 PM
Electoral rolls
Synopsis: In Karnataka, camps have been set up in several gram panchayat limits rural areas and in wards in urban areas, to train and familiarise BLOs with new IT features/modules/applications that are being set up for this exercise. Political parties have also been intimated with the detailed guidelines regarding the exercise.
Preparations for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka will be completed by 25 September, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V Anbukkumar said on Wednesday, 17 September. While the official schedule and detailed timeline of the process is yet to be issued, officials have already started training booth-level officers for the massive exercise.
The preparations started after an order issued by the Election Commission of India on 24 June, 2025, noted that a significant change in electoral roll has taken place during the last 20 years due to additions and deletions on a large scale.
“Rapid urbanisation and frequent migration of population from one place to another on account of education, livelihood and other reasons have become a regular trend. Some electors obtain registration in one place and then shift their residence and register themselves at another place without getting their names deleted from the electoral roll of the initial place of residence,” the order said.
This, the EC said, has led to increased possibility of repeated entries in the electoral roll. “Thus the situation warrants an intensive verification drive to verify each person before enrolment as an elector,” the poll body said.
In Karnataka, camps have been set up in several gram panchayat limits rural areas and in wards in urban areas, to train and familiarise BLOs with new IT features/modules/applications that are being set up for this exercise. Political parties have also been intimated with the detailed guidelines regarding the exercise.
The last such exercise in Karnataka was conducted in 2002. The latest one comes on the heels of “vote chori” allegations by the Congress party.
“The aim of the SIR is to ensure no eligible voter is left out of the voter list while also ensuring that no ineligible person is included in the rolls,” Anbukkumar said.
Prior to the beginning of the exercise, ECI will freeze the electoral roll for the duration of the SIR – form 6, 7, and 8 will not be considered during the period of the exercise.
Post this, a pre-filled enumeration form will be printed and distributed to every voter on the electoral roll as of 2025. While the form will have details of the voter as they would have filled it, the voter has to provide a valid document establishing date of birth along with place of birth – a document proving their citizenship.
A unique QR code is placed on the top of these enumeration forms. The BLO can scan the code and upload the required document of the voter on the BLO app. This QR code, Anbukkumar said, would ensure that no duplicate voters, impersonating the person’s details, can be added on to the list.
Voters can also upload the document via the election commission website. However, the BLO will still have to verify whether the documents are valid. Voters whose names were there in 2002 electoral rolls (when the SIR was last conducted), need to submit the extract of that roll where their name is enrolled. These rolls are now available for public access here.
Once the house to house enumeration is completed, BLOs and other officials will prepare a list of probable absentees, those who have shifted, or are dead, and probable duplicate entries, and publish this list on the website. A copy of these details will also be given to political parties.
Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will then publish draft electoral rolls based on the filled and verified enumeration forms. These rolls will also be published on DEOs and CEO websites, calling for claims and objections from the general public. The final rolls will be published once all objects are disposed of during a stipulated period.
While political parties have already been urged to appoint Booth-level Agents, under the SIR exercise, the EC has also directed EROs to share a list of claims and objections with all political parties on a weekly basis. Moreover, after draft and final publication of lists, the ERO has to supply two copies of each of these rolls to every registered political party – without the photographs of the voters.
To ensure further supervision over the exercise, the EC has directed the BLO supervisor (who is in-charge of 10 BLOs) to verify 10 percent of each BLO’s verification work done under him.
A further intensive ‘super-checking’ will also be done by roll observers, wherein they will verify 250 forms (100 additions, 100 deletions, and 50 modifications) in each of the assigned districts. The EC has mandated field verification of at least 50 of these claims.
Amid concerns over lack of documents among migrants or even the elderly population, Anbukkumar assured that these complaints will be addressed on a case-by-case basis by the District Election Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers once the exercise begins.
The Supreme Court on 8 September directed the ECI to accept Aadhaar, in addition to the 11 other documents specified under the SIR rules, as a proof of identity of a person to enable him to file for inclusion in the electoral rolls of Bihar. For SIR in Karnataka as well, Aadhaar will only be accepted and utilised as a proof of identity and not as a proof of citizenship. The voter will have to furnish another proof of citizenship from the 11 documents mentioned.
Currently, EC officials are verifying details of existing BLOs, their contact details and providing them with identity cards, if not given already. Their honorarium has also been increased by ₹6,000 to ₹18,000 for this exercise.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
