Karnataka gears up for first voter roll revision in 23 years, EC to launch drive by Sept 25

During the revision, all proceedings on forms 6, 7 and 8 will be frozen, with the final authority on inclusions resting with the District Electoral Officer.

Bengaluru: The Election Commission is expected to be ready for conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka by September 25, well-placed sources said.

The EC will notify the exact dates for the exercise, which has to be completed within three months once the notification is out. 

The last SIR in the state was conducted in 2002. According to the sources, there were around 3.5 crore electors in Karnataka in 2002, while the current number is expected to be around 5.5 crore.

The exercise will be conducted in five main phases, which include hearing of claims and objections.

After the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) downloads the pre-filled enrolment forms, the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will go from house to house and distribute two copies of the forms.

During the exercise, all proceedings on forms 6 (first time voters), 7 (objections) and 8 (correction) will be frozen.

The poll panel is said to have conducted discussions with political parties and sought their cooperation throughout the exercise. Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of parties will also participate in the exercise and volunteers will also be involved.

If the software/ system detects any potential voter duplication -- possible in cases where the system may indicate more than 65% similarity in photo identification, name, address and other details between two different voters -- the respective officers will be asked to verify the details again.

For those born before July 1, 1987, one of the 11 documents prescribed by the EC (passport, birth certificate, SSLC certificate, caste certificate, family register and so on) and Aadhar can be considered. For those born after the above date, documents of one of the parents have to be produced, along with their own document. For those born after December 2, 2004, documents of both parents have to be produced along with their own document.

While Aadhaar will be accepted as a proof of identity, it cannot be a proof of citizenship, as per the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The BLO will take back one copy of the enrolment form while the citizen will keep the other copy, with an acknowledgment by the BLO. Citizens can also enumerate through online means and upload the enumeration forms through BLO App/ECI Net.

EC sources said the principle behind the exercise is that “no eligible voter is left out, while no ineligible voter is included”.

However, there are concerns that many genuine citizens, especially senior citizens, may not have the required documents. In such cases, the issue will go before the ERO. The final authority to decide on who should be included in the list will lie with the District Electoral Officer (DEO).

Overall, there are 58,000 BLOs in Karnataka. They include anganawadi workers, school teachers and central government employees.

The sources said the honorarium for the BLOs has been increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000. During SIR, it will be Rs 18,000.