Bengaluru, August 25
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to extend the deadline for filing claims and objections following the publication of the draft electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday, Mr. Shivakumar expressed concern over what he described as the “alarming” number of electors facing exclusion or verification.
The Chief Minister said more than 1.08 crore names had been classified under the ASDDO category, while nearly 43 lakh voters were expected to receive notices over logical discrepancies in their electoral details. The scale of the exercise, he said, required time and administrative resources to prevent eligible citizens from being removed from the rolls.
Mr. Shivakumar sought an extension of the claims and objections period to enable genuine voters omitted from the rolls to submit applications for inclusion. He also requested that electors receiving notices over discrepancies or the absence of links to the 2002 electoral rolls be given at least three to four weeks to respond and produce documents.
The Chief Minister further asked the ECI to direct the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer to implement the prescribed verification process. This should include holding Gram Sabha meetings in rural areas and Ward Committee meetings in urban areas, accompanied by publicity to ensure public participation, he said.
He also called for an increase in the number of Electoral Registration Officers and District Election Officers to manage the anticipated volume of claims, objections and applications. Strengthening administrative capacity was necessary to minimise mistakes and prevent unfair exclusions, he added.
“Mobility, poverty, lack of documentation or lack of information must not become reasons for disenfranchisement,” Mr. Shivakumar said, stressing that the revision should produce an accurate and trusted electoral roll without leaving out any genuine voter.
