Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to extend the claims and objections period and ensure adequate verification time during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. The letter, dated 25 August, warns that nearly 1.5 crore voters in Karnataka risk deletion from the rolls if the current timeline is not revised.

Scale of the Problem

According to the letter, nearly 1.08 crore of Karnataka's 5.54 crore registered electors have been placed under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) category. Following the publication of the draft electoral roll on 24 August, verification notices are expected to be issued to around 43.8 lakh electors for 'logical discrepancies' or the absence of a link to the 2002 electoral roll.

In Bengaluru alone, 46.88 lakh electors have been placed under the ASDDO category — a figure Shivakumar described as alarming. He warned that without an extension, a large proportion of these voters could be removed from the rolls simply for failing to respond within the current window.

Why Genuine Voters Are at Risk

Shivakumar argued that many voters categorised as 'Absent' are genuine electors who could not submit enumeration forms due to work commitments, health conditions, or other personal circumstances. He also flagged difficulties faced by voters who had shifted residences or polling stations but were missed during house-to-house visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

'Mobility should not translate into disenfranchisement,' he said in the letter. This concern is particularly acute for migrant workers, the elderly, and daily-wage earners who cannot easily engage with administrative processes during working hours.

Four Requests to the ECI

The Chief Minister made four specific requests to the Commission. First, an extension of the claims period to allow genuine voters, including those in the ASDDO category, to file claims through Form 6. Second, the implementation of structured procedures directing District Election Officers to convene Ward Committee meetings in urban areas and Gram Sabhas in rural areas. Third, a verification window of three to four weeks for voters to respond — particularly for working people, migrants, and elderly citizens. Fourth, an increase in the number of officers deployed in districts with a high concentration of ASDDO cases and discrepancies.

Shivakumar confirmed that the state government is prepared to assist with Gram Sabha and Ward Committee meetings, publicity campaigns, and logistical support to facilitate the process.

Congress Amplifies the Concern

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared Shivakumar's letter on X, calling the deletions 'massive and unjustified.' 'Here is the letter of the CM, Karnataka, to the CEC on the massive and unjustified deletion of names from the electoral roll through the SIR process in the state. We hope that the CEC will take prompt action regarding the concerns raised by the CM,' Ramesh wrote.

This comes amid broader national scrutiny of the SIR process, with opposition parties in several states questioning the pace and methodology of electoral roll revisions ahead of upcoming elections.

What Shivakumar Is Asking For

'The objective must be an electoral roll that the people of Karnataka can trust: one in which every eligible citizen is included, every ineligible entry is removed, and no citizen is deprived of the franchise merely for want of adequate time, information or opportunity to establish his or her eligibility,' Shivakumar said in his letter. The ECI is yet to formally respond to the Chief Minister's requests, and the outcome of this correspondence will be closely watched as the SIR process continues across the state.