When Karnataka is already on election mode, it has come as a huge shock that more than 33 lakh bogus voters have been included in the draft electoral rolls and the office of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has been forced to scrap the lists and order a fresh door-to-door survey.

During their two-day intensive review of the preparations for the polls, which concluded in Bangalore on Thursday, CEC N Gopalaswami and his two colleagues found that the State election machinery has done an extremely shoddy job with the preparation of the voters’ list. Though the time available for correcting the same is limited -- the entire process of electing a new Assembly and installing a new government has to be completed by May 28 -- the commission has opted to go for a fresh review considering the seriousness of the lapses.

It is hard to believe that the names of thousands of dead persons still remain on the electoral rolls, especially in the limits of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), when “intensive revision” and many “summary revisions” are supposed to have been carried out in the last two years. After the registration of births and deaths was made mandatory, the BBMP should be having fairly accurate records.

But, obviously the BBMP officials are not in the habit of periodically updating the available information. The CEC has ordered deletion of some 33 lakh fresh names included in the draft voters’ list and inclusion of 9.27 lakh names omitted, besides a thorough cross-verification of the list. He has set a deadline of February 7 for publication of draft electoral rolls and final notification on March 10.

Though the CEC has not named the districts or regions where the discrepancies have occurred, it is obvious that some politicians and government officials have been hand-in-glove in causing such large-scale distortions. The commission should initiate stringent action against those responsible for playing havoc with the electoral rolls and make sure that action is taken against them.

The commission’s decision to make the fresh draft available to all politicial parties before the final notification is a welcome move as the aspiring candidates will keep a hawk-like eye on any mischief likely to be indulged in by their rivals. When political morality is perhaps at its ebb and politicians are ready to do anything to win elections, including creation of bogus voters, the Election Commission remains the last beacon of hope for ordinary citizens.