Karnataka: People Against SIR Forum Seeks Rejection Of Final Electoral Rolls

The People Against SIR forum on Wednesday urged the Karnataka government to reject the final electoral rolls prepared following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and conduct local body elections using the earlier voter lists. The forum alleged that eligible voters had been wrongly deleted during the exercise and called for a social audit to identify those excluded from the rolls.

Addressing a press conference, activist Noor Sridhar challenged Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar’s claim that not a single eligible voter had been wrongly removed. The forum said the scale of the decline in registered voters warranted further scrutiny.

Forum Questions Sharp Decline In Karnataka’s Voter Count

According to the final electoral rolls released on Tuesday, Karnataka has 4.55 crore registered voters following the SIR, down from 5.54 crore before the exercise — a reduction of 99.32 lakh voters.

Sridhar questioned the revised figure, pointing to government estimates that Karnataka had around 5.2 crore adults.

“Anbukkumar says not even one eligible voter has been deleted. We challenge him that we can bring 100 people who were deleted. If he accepts this challenge and we bring 100 such people, he should resign,” Sridhar said.

He also highlighted the reported decline in Bengaluru’s voter count, from 1.03 crore to 59 lakh, questioning how such a reduction could occur in a city whose population continues to grow.

Sridhar further pointed out that only 716 foreign nationals had reportedly been removed from the electoral rolls, arguing that the exercise had not delivered substantive results.

The forum demanded a social audit involving public hearings, booth-level programmes and house-to-house visits to identify eligible voters who may have been excluded. It also said the issue would be raised prominently during the Karnataka Legislature’s Winter Session, expected to begin on December 7.

Activists Criticise Election Commission, Demand Accountability

Senior journalist Indhudhara Honnapura criticised the process through which Gyanesh Kumar was appointed Chief Election Commissioner, describing it as “illegal”. He questioned the composition of the selection panel, arguing that two of its three members — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah — belonged to the ruling party.

Alleging that several eligible voters had been deleted during the SIR, Honnapura also demanded Kumar’s arrest.

The forum’s demands come amid wider political opposition to the electoral roll revision exercise, with critics raising concerns about transparency, voter exclusions and the need for safeguards to ensure that eligible citizens retain their voting rights.

The allegations made by the forum and the activists have not, in themselves, established that eligible voters were wrongly deleted. The dispute centres on whether the revised rolls accurately reflect Karnataka’s eligible electorate and whether additional verification is needed before elections are conducted using the updated lists.