Karnataka SIR: EC revises schedule, final electoral roll publication on Oct 19

Bengaluru, Jul 15 (PTI) The Election Commission of India has revised the schedule for the SIR of electoral rolls in Karnataka, according to Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar. A press release issued by Anbukkumar's office said the house-to-house visits by Booth Level Officers had been extended to August 8, from the earlier deadline of July 29. Draft publication will now take place on August 17 instead of August 5. The period for filing claims and objections will be between August 17 and September 16, instead of September 4. Notice, hearing and disposal of claims and objections will take place from August 17 to October 15, and the final publication will take place on October 19 instead of October 7. Earlier, addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Anbukkumar told reporters that Karnataka had distributed enumeration forms to 95.58 per cent of the state's 5.54 crore voters as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Nearly 40 per cent of the returned forms had already been digitised, he added. Addressing the press conference here, Anbukkumar said enumeration forms had been distributed to 5,29,82,909 of the state's 5,54,32,314 registered voters, while forms submitted by 2,20,77,772 voters had already been digitised. He said 4,26,233 applications had also been submitted online. "As of today, forms have been distributed to 5,29,82,909 voters, which means 95.58 per cent of the enumeration forms have been distributed. So far, the forms of 2,20,77,772 voters have been digitised, which is 39.83 per cent of the total," he said. The state chief electoral officer said 13 districts — Chamarajanagar, Chikkaballapur, Davanagere, Haveri, Kolar, Koppal, Mandya, Raichur, Uttara Kannada, Vijayanagara, Yadgir, Kodagu and Hassan — had completed 100 per cent distribution of enumeration forms, while about 11 more districts had crossed the 99 per cent mark and were expected to complete the exercise within a day or two. Among the districts leading in digitisation, Chikkaballapur topped the list with 64 per cent, followed by Haveri (62 per cent), Davanagere (59 per cent), Koppal (58 per cent), Hassan (57 per cent) and Chitradurga (56 per cent). Mayakonda Assembly constituency recorded the highest digitisation rate at 83.36 per cent, followed by Kanagal and Chikkaballapur at 76 per cent each, and Harihar at 72 per cent. Providing an update on Bengaluru, Anbukkumar said forms had been distributed to about 82 lakh of the city's 1.03 crore voters, with distribution ranging from 75.8 per cent in Bengaluru Urban to 83.13 per cent in Bengaluru North. He acknowledged that digitisation in Bengaluru had been slower than in other districts, but said the pace had picked up. "Compared to other districts in the state, Bengaluru's progress has been slower, but the pace has now increased, and we are confident it will catch up soon," he said. The CEO said recognised political parties had so far appointed 1,31,626 Booth Level Agents, and officials had been instructed to share the ASDO lists with them for verification. The Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, Dead and Others list currently contains 13,96,012 entries, comprising 1,42,004 absent or untraceable voters, 8,02,741 permanently shifted voters, 3,71,991 deceased voters, 70,136 voters already enrolled elsewhere, and 4,140 in the "Others" category. He appealed to political parties and BLAs to verify the lists to ensure that no eligible voter was inconvenienced. "I would like to request all office-bearers of registered political parties and all BLAs to kindly verify the ASDO list from their side. This will ensure that no eligible voter suffers any inconvenience," he said. Anbukkumar said Election Commission of India Deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar had toured Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Shivamogga, Mandya, Hassan and Mysuru districts to review the exercise, while he himself had visited Bidar, Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur. Joint chief electoral officers were also being deputed to the districts, with emphasis on maintaining the quality of digitisation, such as proper scanning of voter photographs and signatures. He said the Election Department was sharing updated progress with recognised political parties every two hours through WhatsApp groups, and sending daily reports by email, besides regularly briefing the media. Appealing to voters, Anbukkumar said those who had not yet received their enumeration forms would get them within the next two or three days. He urged voters who had already received the forms to fill them, sign them and return them to the BLOs. He also asked BLAs to assist voters and to promptly digitise and upload all completed forms. PTI GMS SSK