3 weeks ago
Nearly Half of Bengaluru's Voters Flagged for Deletion in SIR
People in India vote to choose their leaders, and the government keeps a big list of everyone allowed to vote — it is called the voter list.
Recently, officials in the state of Karnataka checked this list very carefully to find mistakes.
They marked some names as 'absent, shifted, dead, duplicate or other,' which is shortened to ASDDO.
In the city of Bengaluru, almost 50 lakh people's names were marked this way — nearly half of the city's voters.
That made many people worried, because they thought their names might be removed and they would lose their chance to vote.
Officials say being marked does not mean a name will be deleted automatically.
Anybody who was marked by mistake can fix it by showing proof that they still live at their address.
The draft list comes out on August 17, and people have until October 15 to correct their details.
Some politicians said the exercise is unfair and could remove voters, but officials say they are just cleaning up old and wrong entries.
Nearly 49.42 lakh of Bengaluru's 1.03 crore registered voters were flagged under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate or Other (ASDDO) category during Karnataka's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Across Karnataka, around 1.11 crore voters — nearly one-fifth of the state's 5.54 crore registered electors — have been placed under the ASDDO category, a rate of 19.93%.
Permanently shifted voters make up the largest share of flagged electors statewide (66.43 lakh), followed by dead (16.32 lakh) and untraceable or absent (16.12 lakh).
The draft electoral roll will be published on August 17; incorrectly marked voters can get corrections via Booth Level Officers by August 8, with further corrections possible until October 15.
Congress leader Ramesh Babu accused the BJP of trying to disenfranchise Congress supporters, while the BJP has not accepted the allegations and officials say the exercise updates voter records.
- Who
- Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukumar, who released the data on August 5; Congress leader and MLC Ramesh Babu; and voters in Bengaluru and across Karnataka.
- What
- Nearly half of Bengaluru's voters — 49.42 lakh of the city's 1.03 crore registered electors — were flagged under the ASDDO (Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate or Other) category during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
- Where
- Bengaluru and Karnataka, India.
- When
- Data released on August 5; BLO/ERO corrections allowed until August 8; draft electoral roll to be published on August 17; corrections and inclusion accepted until October 15.
- Why
- Officials say the SIR updates voter records by identifying deceased persons, shifted residents, duplicates and other discrepancies; the Congress alleges it could disenfranchise eligible Congress supporters.
Congress View
BJP and Election Officials' View
Purpose of the SIR exercise
Congress View
Congress alleges the revision is an attempt to disenfranchise Congress supporters and could affect nearly 20% of the state's electorate; MLC Ramesh Babu said every vote deleted in Karnataka is the direct responsibility of the BJP.
BJP and Election Officials' View
Election officials say the exercise aims to update voter records by identifying deceased persons, shifted residents, duplicates and other discrepancies; the BJP has not accepted the allegations.
Protection of eligible voters
Congress View
Congress says eligible voters are at risk of removal and has submitted multiple representations urging the Election Commission to ensure no eligible voter is removed from the electoral rolls.
BJP and Election Officials' View
The Election Commission maintains that being flagged does not mean automatic deletion and that BLOs and EROs can roll back incorrect ASDDO markings; wrongly classified voters can rectify their details during the verification period.
Key facts
- Flagged voters in Bengaluru
- Nearly 49.42 lakh of 1.03 crore registered voters (over 48.9 lakh across urban areas per BBMP data)
- Flagged voters in Karnataka
- Around 1.11 crore, or 19.93% of the state's 5.54 crore electors
- ASDDO
- Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate or Other
- Top flagged constituencies
- Bommanahalli (~2.76 lakh voters); Vijayanagar 53.66%, Dasarahalli 53.55%, BTM Layout 53.43%, C V Raman Nagar 53.25%
- BBMP zone flagging rates
- South 51.18%, Central 47.85%, North 46.95%
- Top reasons for flagging
- Permanently shifted 66.43 lakh; dead 16.32 lakh; untraceable or absent 16.12 lakh; already enrolled elsewhere 6.93 lakh
- Draft roll publication
- August 17
- Correction deadlines
- August 8 for BLO/ERO rollback; October 15 with 11 approved documents (e.g., Aadhaar, passport, PAN card, driving licence, MGNREGA job card)
Sources
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