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The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka has sparked major concerns across the state capital, with a door-to-door survey revealing that nearly half of Bengaluru’s electorate falls into the vulnerable ASDDO category—covering absentee, shifted, duplicate, deceased, and other anomalous entries. According to the latest data released by the Chief Electoral Officer, the Bengaluru Urban district accounts for 40.21 million voters, yet only 55.39 percent of counting forms have been fully digitized. The remaining 44.61 percent, translating to roughly 1.79 million voters, are currently flagged under unorganized or ASDDO classifications, raising questions about massive potential deletions ahead of upcoming electoral milestones.

Alarming Figures Across BBMP Zones in Bengaluru

The demographic and geographical breakdown across various Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) zones highlights a severe administrative challenge for election authorities. BBMP South has recorded the highest proportion of such flagged voters in the entire state, with a staggering 51.18 percent—amounting to 10.97 million voters—marked as ASDDO or unaffiliated. The situation remains similarly critical in central and northern municipal zones, where 47.85 percent (9.04 million voters) in BBMP Central and 46.95 percent (10.95 million voters) in BBMP North fall under identical scrutiny. In total, over 4.89 million voters in urban Bengaluru pockets have been flagged during the intensive enumeration process, significantly overshadowing the state average of 19.93 percent.

Will Flagged Names Be Erased Forever? Election Commission Clarifies

Addressing mounting public anxiety regarding potential disenfranchisement, senior election officials have clarified that being listed under the ASDDO category does not mean an automatic or permanent deletion from the electoral rolls. The Election Commission of India has assured citizens that voters classified as absent, shifted, duplicate, or deceased will be granted adequate opportunities to verify their credentials, seek corrections, or restore their names. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have been empowered to rectify incorrect ASDDO markings, with a fast-track window extended for door-to-door verification and digitization drives.

Statewide Scenario and Measures for Fresh Enrolments

Looking at the broader statewide picture, Karnataka hosts over 55.4 million registered voters, with counting forms distributed 100 percent to grassroots workers and 99.99 percent of them digitized or marked. Out of the 11 million voters statewide currently classified under the ASDDO bracket, the largest segment comprises permanently shifted voters at 6.64 million, followed by deceased voters at 1.63 million, missing or absentee voters at 1.61 million, individuals enrolled elsewhere at 693,000, and other miscellaneous categories at 467,000. To counter potential exclusions and streamline fresh civic participation, the Election Commission has deployed 10 million copies of Form 6 across BBMP and Greater Bengaluru electoral registration offices. Administrative statistics indicate robust civic engagement, with authorities receiving over 1.23 million applications via Forms 6, 6A, 7, and 8 between June 16 and August 5 for seamless name inclusion, deletion, and record corrections across Karnataka.