Over 1 crore voters in Karnataka face potential deletion from electoral rolls, Bengaluru worst hit

Bengaluru, July 28: More than 1.06 crore voters across Karnataka — including 54% of Bengaluru's electorate — have been classified as 'unmapped' or under the ASDDO (Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, Dead and Others) category in the ongoing electoral roll revision, according to data from the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) division.

In Bengaluru alone, 18.85 lakh voters are unmapped (unable to be linked to 2002 electoral rolls or missing progeny mapping), while 36.96 lakh fall under ASDDO. The largest subgroup within ASDDO is 'permanently shifted' (26.34 lakh voters), followed by 'absent' (7.15 lakh). State-wide, 78.37 lakh voters are under ASDDO and 28.40 lakh are unmapped.

Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have flagged that digitisation of enumeration forms has not crossed 44% as of Tuesday afternoon. They warn that many more voters could be flagged when the draft electoral roll is published on August 17. Notices are likely to be sent to affected voters, potentially leading to deletions — especially for dead or duplicate entries.

The gaps are partly attributed to missing supplementary electoral rolls that have not been digitised or are untraceable on public portals. In constituencies like Bommanahalli, Yelahanka, and Mahadevapura, entire polling stations lack digitised 2002 records, making mapping impossible. BLOs also cite voters who have changed residence within the city or shifted to native places without updating addresses.

Following complaints, supplementary rolls for a few wards in Uttarahalli and Yelahanka were made available, but many areas remain uncovered. BLOs noted that voters marked as 'permanently shifted' are classified after three unsuccessful visits to the registered address, partly explaining the high numbers.

The Election Commission has emphasised that affected voters will have an opportunity to provide clarification before any deletions. The revision aims to clean the electoral roll, but the scale of the issue has raised concerns about potential disenfranchisement if due process is not followed.