Karnataka SIR: 803 voter IDs linked to 397 people in Mahadevapura
An analysis of Karnataka’s final electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has found that Mahadevapura Assembly constituency has 803 voter IDs linked to just 397 people, according to a report in The Hindu. The finding comes from the same constituency where allegations of “vote chori” first surfaced after the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The SIR is an exercise meant to clean up electoral rolls, including removing duplicate entries. The report said that in several cases, more than three voter IDs had been issued under one person’s name. It also found instances where the same Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number appeared in two different constituencies.
For example, Madhumita’s name appears in the final SIR rolls of both Mahadevapura (Part 180) and Hebbal (Part 62) with the same EPIC number. Her father’s name and age are also the same in both entries. Similarly, Chaitra appears in Mahadevapura (Part 90) and Dasarahalli (Part 251) with the same EPIC number. The report said at least seven such cases were found across constituencies, with the same EPIC number appearing against two entries in each case. These seven EPIC numbers account for 14 entries in the final rolls — three cases each between Mahadevapura and Dasarahalli, and Mahadevapura and Sarvagnanagar, and one between Mahadevapura and Hebbal.
In another set of cases, individuals were issued multiple EPIC IDs. The report found seven cases in which people held more than three voter IDs each. These included a father-daughter duo in Mahadevapura. Santosh Kumar, 63, has five voter IDs — three in the same polling station (Part 232) and one each in Parts 233 and 234. His age, address and relatives’ names are the same across all five entries. His daughter, Kriti, 27, has two voter IDs in Parts 232 and 234. Her details are identical in both entries, except that one does not mention the house number. Both entries list Santosh Kumar as her father.
The report also found more than 500 cases in Mahadevapura in which the same person had two or more voter IDs within a polling station. In 300 other cases, the same person had multiple IDs across different polling stations in the constituency. For instance, in Part 2, consecutive serial numbers 497 and 498 are both listed under the name of Nithin, 18, with Prakash mentioned as his father. The only difference is the house number — one entry lists it as 00 and the other as 025.
In another case, Girija, 51, whose name was deleted from the draft rolls, now appears twice in the final rolls. The Form 9 report, which consolidates Form 6 applications, shows that she applied for inclusion twice — on August 14 and September 18. Her name now figures in Parts 484 and 487. Both entries mention the address at which she had been marked as “permanently shifted”, which had led to her name being deleted from the draft rolls.
The “vote chori” controversy first erupted in Mahadevapura when the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, alleged that over one lakh fake or stolen votes had been systematically engineered in the area to manipulate the outcome of the 2024 Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha election. The seat is currently represented by the BJP. The allegations have been a matter of political dispute.
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said it had received no formal complaints about duplicate entries. The CEO’s office said it was monitoring complaints flagged on social media and by political parties, and that the cases would be verified.
