SIR upcoming in Karnataka | 3.74 crore voters mapped in state against electoral rolls of 2002

Bengaluru: A total of 3.74 crore voters, who are above and below the cut-off age of 40, have been mapped so far against the electoral rolls of 2002, when the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) happened in Karnataka.

This mapping is a key prerequisite -- 'a table-top exercise', is how an Election Commission (EC) official described it -- for a new SIR that is expected to take place in the state this year.

According to information provided to the Cabinet by the office of Chief Electoral Officer V Anbu Kumar, the Election Commission is expected to issue a notification on the SIR timeline in Karnataka soon.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet asked the law department to study the proposed SIR, including its “various issues and consequences" and make recommendations.

The SIR in states like Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh has stirred a controversy.

After the SIR in 2002, Karnataka had 3.55 crore voters. The latest number of voters stands at 5.57 crore.

BLOs are mapping all voters from the 2002 rolls who are now above 40 years of age. Voters aged below 40, but not in the 2002 rolls, will also be covered through ‘progeny mapping’. This means that such voters aged above 18 will be mapped with their parents or grandparents who existed in the 2002 rolls.

“We will verify each and every voter. Every voter will get two sets of enrolment forms. One will be kept by the booth-level officer (BLO), and another will be for the voter,” an official with direct knowledge of the mapping exercise said. “The mapping exercise will help us understand how many voters, who were in the 2002 rolls, continue in 2025.”

BLOs have also been allowed to take up interstate mapping. This will cover voters who were not present in the 2002 list, but got included in any post-SIR electoral roll in other states.

The progress of mapping is low in Bengaluru - in the range of 23 to 26%. According to an official, this is due to the State Election Commission (SEC) preparing its own electoral rolls for elections to municipalities under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). The official added that mapping would continue during SIR as well.