Voters challenge disputed deletions during Karnataka electoral roll revision

Residents in Bengaluru and Vijayapura have raised separate complaints about alleged voter deletions during Karnataka’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. At Anand Nair Street in Bengaluru’s Ulsoor, a joint family says eight of its members were removed from the voters’ list even though they continue to live at the same address. The family says 32 voters have lived there for more than 35 years.

The affected members were reportedly recorded as “absent” or “permanently shifted”. The family disputes both descriptions, saying the members have not moved and have not registered as voters elsewhere. It also says they have voted from the area, including in the 2002 elections.

The family alleges that Form 7, used to request deletion from an electoral roll, was submitted in relation to the eight names without residence verification or advance notice. It approached the local Booth Level Officer for an explanation and says it was told that a person identified as Ravi had submitted the forms. The family alleges that Ravi is a BJP worker and that the deletions may have been connected to community identity.

India Today said those allegations had not been independently established. The family is seeking verification and restoration of the names. In Vijayapura, protesters who say they are alive claimed they had been recorded as dead during the revision.

They demonstrated outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office and questioned how death certificates could have been issued in their names while they were present to demand answers. Protesters also alleged that about 1,046 living voters from minority communities were being targeted across 198 polling booths. That claim, along with allegations of fake death certificates and accusations involving MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, was not independently verified.

The protesters submitted a memorandum seeking action and restoration of names.