Bengaluru: Civil society groups allege lack of transparency in voter mapping

Bengaluru: 'My Vote, My Right', a coalition of several civil society organisations, has written to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) flagging discrepancies in the voter-mapping process.

Among the major concerns raised is the lack of clarity and transparency regarding the progress of voter roll mapping.

The letter noted that while the CEO claimed that mapping had been completed for 4.46 crore out of 5.57 crore voters, the supporting documents did not substantiate this figure.

"However, column 8 on page 1 of the document shared by the CEO’s office reveals that only 19.13 lakh voters have been ‘System and BLO verified’. As the mapping of electoral rolls is being carried out in a completely opaque manner, it remains unclear what protocol is used to determine that the mapping of a voter has been completed. If only 19.13 lakh voters have been ‘System and BLO verified’, how can it be claimed that the mapping of 4.46 crore voters has been completed?” the letter said.

The group also expressed concern that the mapping exercise is leading to the exclusion of large sections of the population, including women, Adivasis, migrant workers, and other marginalised communities.

Further, the letter highlighted a limitation in the app used by officials, stating that it does not allow progeny mapping for individuals above 39 years.

“In recent interactions with BLOs, we have learnt that ‘Progeny Mapping’, which links a voter’s name to their parents’ or grandparents’ names in the 2002 voter list, is only permitted for voters between the ages of 18 and 39 years. The app used by BLOs for this process displays an error if a person is above the age of 40 years,” the letter said.

The group urged the Office of the CEO-K to respond to complaints and communications from civil society organisations and citizens in a timely and proactive manner.