Voter revision final phase: Over 2.8 lakh SIR Inquiries pending
CH NEWS, BENGALURU As the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across Karnataka enters its decisive final phase ahead of the publication of the final voter list on October 27, election administrative authorities are racing against time to clear a significant backlog of approximately 2.8 lakh pending inquiries. Disclosures from the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office highlight that urban centers—specifically Bengaluru City and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) administrative zones—account for nearly two-thirds of these outstanding verification hearings. The intensive revision initiative, designed to sanitize and update electoral registers, involved the generation of 43.8 lakh statutory notices across the state. Field administrative machinery achieved a high delivery efficiency rate of 99.8%, successfully serving 43.7 lakh notices to registered voters. Out of the total cases flagged for discrepancies, mapping anomalies, or physical verification, the inquiry and hearing process has been successfully completed in 93.5% of instances. However, the remaining unaddressed volume poses logistical challenges, particularly in high-density urban wards. The highest concentration of pending cases is centered in the BBMP South zone, which alone accounts for 65,335 pending hearings (with roughly 84.4% of its targeted inquiries completed). This is followed closely by the broader Bengaluru Urban district, which reports 54,943 pending verification cases. Conversely, verification and inquiry clearance rates are nearing completion in peripheral and regional jurisdictions such as Kalaburagi, Bidar, and Bengaluru Rural. Since the commencement of the comprehensive revision cycle on June 16, election machinery has processed an unprecedented volume of approximately 23 lakh individual applications. The vast majority of these submissions comprise Form 8 (for shifting residences, correction of entries, or replacement of Epic cards) and Form 6 (for the enrollment of new, eligible voters), with Bengaluru Urban district alone accounting for 2.6 lakh applications. Concurrently, election authorities and state legal departments have stepped up scrutiny over suspicious mass filings of Form 7 applications, which target the deletion of voter names. While the Karnataka High Court has granted an interim stay on recent first information reports (FIRs) registered over alleged attempts to systematically delete voter credentials, political parties have raised vociferous demands for deeper administrative probes. With October 22 set as the final deadline for resolving all remaining claims and objections, district election officers have intensified booth-level outreach camps to ensure that eligible citizens are not disenfranchised ahead of the final electoral roll publication scheduled for October 27.
SIR process metrics & pendency breakdown
• Statewide Notice Delivery: Out of 43.82 lakh notices generated for voters flagged under "No Mapping" and "Anomalies" categories, 99.8% have been successfully delivered to electors. • Inquiry Completion Rate: Field hearings and verifications have been completed for over 93.4% of delivered cases, leaving approximately 2.85 lakh inquiries (about 285,646 cases) pending across the state. • Urban Concentration: Nearly two-thirds of the pending workload is concentrated within Bengaluru City and BBMP jurisdictions. Specifically, Bengaluru South BBMP zone leads with 65,335 pending inquiries, followed closely by Bengaluru Urban district with 54,943 cases. • Key Deadlines: October 22 has been fixed as the final cutoff date for disposing of claims, objections, and notices, leading directly to the publication of the final electoral roll on October 27.
Form 7 controversy and statewide applications
Cumulative Form 7 submissions crossed 110,654 applications statewide by October 8, registering an increase of nearly 19,300 filings over a four-day window. The surge has triggered intense political friction and investigations regarding alleged bulk submissions aimed at targeting specific voter demographics, though election authorities have reiterated that every objection must undergo independent ERO scrutiny and mandatory hearings before any deletion is authorized. Concurrently, active enrollment drives for first-time voters via Form 6 continue across all 31 districts as the state's total registered electorate stands at over 4.51 crore citizens.
