Questions raised over Karnataka voter deletions despite extensive SIR mapping

More than 1.07 crore voter names were deleted from Karnataka’s draft electoral rolls even though official data showed that 91.30% of electors had been mapped during the Special Intensive Revision, according to The Hindu. Before the draft rolls were published, the State had 5.54 crore voters. Of those, 5.06 crore, including progeny, were mapped, leaving 48.21 lakh electors outside the mapping exercise.

The scale of the deletions has raised questions about how voters who were mapped were nevertheless removed from the draft list. Officials and Booth Level Officers provided different explanations, but the reported figures did not resolve the discrepancy. Only 23.45 lakh notices were generated under the “no mapping” category, although the pre-enumeration exercise had identified nearly twice as many unmapped electors.

Civil society groups questioned whether notices were based on earlier mapping records or on details returned through enumeration forms. Officials said deletions categorised as Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, Dead and Others were separate from mapping. They said mapping collected information and helped the enumeration process, while names were deleted in cases where forms were not returned.

However, more than 15 lakh voters classified as absent were reportedly deleted simply because they were not present when an enumeration form was delivered, even though they remained at the same address. Officials also said the 91% figure measured the coverage of mapping rather than its success. The reported material said no official figures had been provided showing how many voters were successfully mapped and how many could not be matched.

Kodagu illustrated the concern. It had a reported mapping rate of 98.67%, with only 6,230 electors outside the mapping exercise, but more than 13% of its voters were deleted. The district recorded more than 58,890 notices overall.

The Hindu also reported that mobile tribal workers in Kodagu had been difficult to map, with Booth Level Officers saying some villages had no electors mapped. The figures have prompted continuing questions about the relationship between the mapping exercise and the deletions.