E-Paper
State digitises 77% electoral roll forms: CEO
BENGALURU: Karnataka has digitized nearly 77% of the enumeration forms collected under its special revision of electoral rolls, while identifying more than 8
BENGALURU: Karnataka has digitized nearly 77% of the enumeration forms collected under its special revision of electoral rolls, while identifying more than 8.4 million voters for further scrutiny after field verification, with officials classifying them as absent, shifted, deceased, duplicate or falling under other categories, the state’s chief electoral officer V Anbukumar said on Wednesday.
Addressing reporters in Bengaluru, Anbukumar said 4,26,75,861 of the 5,54,32,314 enumeration forms distributed across Karnataka had been digitised, taking overall progress to 76.99%.
The verification drive has identified 8.4 million voters under the ASDDO categories. According to the data, 51,74,968 voters were found to have permanently shifted their residence, 14,99,799 were deceased, 11,61,231 were absent during verification, 5,62,572 had duplicate entries in more than one location and 33,042 were placed under other categories.
Anbukumar said every entry marked under ASDDO was supported by field verification carried out by Booth Level Officers. “Each ASDDO case is supported by a spot mahazar. In the case of deceased voters, the death certificate is uploaded. When a voter is marked as shifted or absent, it simply means the person was not found at the registered address during verification. The voter may have relocated or may have been unavailable,” he said.
He said eligible citizens whose names were missing from the electoral rolls could still apply for inclusion. “If an eligible voter has not applied anywhere else in the country, they can submit Form 6 either online or offline to get their name included in the electoral roll,” he said.
The chief electoral officer appealed to residents to submit pending enumeration forms before the deadline, saying 43,24,847 forms were yet to be returned. “There are still 43,24,847 enumeration forms yet to be submitted. People should not retain these forms at home. They must hand them over to the concerned BLOs at the earliest. Only after the forms are received will the names be considered for inclusion in the draft electoral roll,” he said.
He clarified that a family member could sign and submit the form if the voter was unavailable. “People should not withhold the forms merely because information relating to 2002 is unavailable. The last date for submitting the enumeration forms is August 8,” he said.
Anbukumar also urged those who will turn 18 by October 1, 2026, to submit Form 6 so their names can be included in the electoral rolls.
Within the Greater Bengaluru Authority limits, he said, there are 1,03,88,363 registered voters. Of them, 39,38,202 have been identified under the ASDDO categories, while 16,57,582 enumeration forms are yet to be digitised. “Officials have been instructed to inform recognised political parties in areas where the ASDDO numbers are comparatively high so that the revision process remains transparent and participative,” Anbukumar said.
The special revision is intended to update Karnataka’s electoral rolls by removing ineligible entries while enabling all eligible citizens to be included before the draft electoral rolls are published.
