Nearly half of Bengaluru voters may be deleted, activists tell CM

A delegation of activists and civil society groups has warned Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar that nearly half of Bengaluru's voters could be removed from electoral rolls. In a petition submitted on Monday, the groups said 1.09 crore voters are in the ASDDO, Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others, category. Deccan Herald reports that in nearly 3,000 polling booths in the city, the deletion level exceeds 60 per cent.

The groups alleged that elderly people are being marked "dead" and voters who made minor errors in enumeration forms are being placed under "Others". The News Minute reports that voters who shifted residence after 2002 are being denied enumeration forms and told to re-register, which the groups call a violation of Election Commission rules. They also criticised the EC's public awareness efforts and rushed timelines.

The delegation, which included actor Prakash Raj, demanded a three-month extension of the Special Intensive Revision process and a fresh round of door-to-door visits. If the EC does not act, the groups urged Shivakumar to raise the matter in the Karnataka Assembly, pass a resolution and approach the Supreme Court.