More than 47 lakh voters, accounting for 8.48% of Karnataka’s electorate, have been flagged under various categories that could result in the possible deletion of their names from the electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls so far, according to data released by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, on Wednesday.

The State has 5,54,32,314 electors on its rolls. As part of the house-to-house verification exercise that began on June 30, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have so far identified 47,02,092 electors under the ASDDO category — Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate (Already Enrolled) and Others. These cases have been classified as Unenumerated Forms (UEFs).

Addressing presspersons here, V. Anbu Kumar, CEO for Karnataka, said that the figure does not represent the number of voters who would be deleted from the electoral roll. The cases will undergo further verification by Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by recognised political parties, and each case would be scrutinised by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) before any decision on deletion is taken, he said.

Permanently shifted

The largest category comprises 27,67,075 voters (4.99% of the electorate) who were found to have permanently shifted from their registered addresses. This is followed by 10,20,351 deceased voters (1.84%), 6,15,377 untraceable or absent voters (1.11%), 2,86,312 voters found to be already enrolled elsewhere (0.52%), and 12,977 voters under other categories.

The CEO said voters who have permanently shifted are not eligible to submit enumeration forms at their earlier addresses and are therefore unlikely to figure in the draft electoral roll for that constituency. “Those who have shifted to other Assembly constituencies can apply for inclusion in the electoral roll at their new address by filing Form 6 after the publication of the draft roll. Such applications would be examined by the ERO concerned,” he said.

If all such voters are subsequently enrolled at their new addresses, the actual number of possible deletions from the existing rolls could be significantly lower than the 47.02 lakh UEF cases.

Field verification

Mr. Kumar said BLOs have completed field verification in most of the flagged cases. “For deceased voters, death certificates were collected from family members wherever available, while spot inspections (mahazars) were conducted in the absence of documentary proof. In cases involving shifted, absent or duplicate voters, BLOs recorded statements from neighbours or relatives and documented their findings during spot inspection,” he said.

He said the ASDDO list is being shared daily with recognised political parties for cross-verification through their BLAs. If any voter is found to have been incorrectly classified, corrections would be made before the electoral roll is finalised.

Highest ASDDO in Bengaluru Urban

Nearly 23% of the ASDDO cases are from Bengaluru. District-wise data show that the highest number of ASDDO cases was reported from Bengaluru Urban district (7,54,950), followed by the South City Corporation (6,05,273), Central City Corporation (5,75,140) and North City Corporation (5,23,492). Together, the four Bengaluru administrative units account for nearly 25 lakh flagged cases, more than half the State total.

Among districts outside Bengaluru, Belagavi (1,80,141), Dharwad (1,60,962), Raichur (1,08,391), Kalaburagi (1,03,025), Koppal (1,03,711), and Shivamogga (99,071) reported comparatively high numbers of voters classified under the ASDDO category.

Mr. Kumar said the objective of the SIR exercise was to ensure that no eligible voter is excluded and no ineligible voter remains on the electoral roll. He said recognised political parties had been asked to actively participate in the verification process before the final roll is prepared.

As of 6 p.m. on July 22, 99.96% of the enumeration forms had been distributed, while 67.23% had been digitised. The house-to-house enumeration and digitisation exercise will continue until August 8, after which the draft electoral roll will be published on August 17.

12 BLOs die during SIR work

Since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began in Karnataka on June 30, as many as 12 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have lost their lives on duty, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for Karnataka V. Anbu Kumar said.

The Election Commission has appointed a total of 59,050 BLOs for SIR work. However, there is no provision under the existing rules to grant any compensation.

Published - July 22, 2026 10:05 pm IST