Missing 2002 supplementary electoral rolls hinder voter verification in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: As the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls progresses, many voters in the city are unable to verify their electoral records due to missing supplementary rolls from 2002. Voters report that their Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers direct them to a different Assembly constituency than the one in which they have been voting for years.

Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have informed affected voters that their names are not in the main electoral roll but in a 'supplementary electoral roll' prepared in 2002. However, voters say these supplementary records are not traceable on the Election Commission's public service portal.

A supplementary electoral roll is an additional list published by the Election Commission to record additions, corrections, or deletions made during a revision. It is meant to be read together with the main electoral roll to form the complete electoral record for a constituency. In this case, voters argue that the supplementary roll referred to by officials is not available, leaving them unable to verify their details from 2002.

Voters have raised the issue through the Election Commission's grievance portal multiple times, but complaints were closed as 'resolved' without any clarification on the missing historical records. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) acknowledge that the issue largely affects voters whose EPICs were issued between July and October 2002.

For instance, residents of Sultanpalya, Dinnur Road, Manorayanapalya, and surrounding localities say their voter identity cards issued in 1995 and 1996 show enrollment in the then Jayamahal Assembly constituency (BMP-AC-87). However, EPICs issued to them between July and October 2002 mention the Yelahanka Assembly constituency (BMP-AC-88) instead. Although they continue to be listed in the 2026 electoral roll and have received SIR enumeration forms, they say their names cannot be found in the 2002 electoral rolls of either Jayamahal or Yelahanka, even when searching using part number and serial number.

Voters question how they can verify their records if the supplementary roll has not been digitised or made available on the Election Commission's public portal. They demand that officials provide a way to verify enrollment through the July-October 2002 supplementary rolls and issue a clarification on constituency discrepancies appearing on EPICs issued during that period.

Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar stated that some discrepancies may arise due to delimitation. 'That issue is happening. But this can be communicated to the BLOs as they have done the mapping. Even help desks are assisting people,' he said.