Karnataka’s most backward districts see low applications for inclusion after SIR draft deletions

Hearings on more than 43.82 lakh notices have been concluded, while most applications received for inclusion (Form 6), deletion (Form 7) and corrections to EPIC particulars (Form 8), filed between June 16 and September 23, the last date for filing claims and objections, have been disposed of, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said on Friday (October 23).

The CEO’s office specified that all 58,475 Form 7 applications received during this period had been cleared on priority. The last date for disposal of claims and objections was October 22, with the final electoral roll scheduled to be published on October 27. 

Most of the districts that reported high deletions under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) categories during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) have received far fewer Form 6 applications seeking inclusion in the electoral rolls. The gap is particularly stark in several historically backward districts, including Kalaburagi, Mysuru, Raichur and Ballari, where deletions at the draft stage exceeded 18% of the electorate. 

Source: Karnataka Chief Electoral Office

During the SIR, people whose names were excluded from the draft rolls after being marked as absent or shifted were required to file Form 6 to seek inclusion in the final electoral roll. The applications remain disproportionately low compared with the scale of deletions. Moreover, the figures do not establish how many applicants are seeking re-inclusion, as the CEO’s office has not released age-wise data or a break-up to establish how many applicants are first-time voters and how many are seeking re-inclusion. 

Kalaburagi, for instance, had 23.71 lakh electors before the draft stage. A total of 5,21,957 names were deleted from the draft roll, including 47,445 people marked as absent and 3,47,606 as shifted. Against these deletions, only 44,749 Form 6 applications had been received by September 23, the cut-off date for seeking inclusion in the final roll.  

Mysuru lost 19.9% of its electorate to the ASDDO list. Of its electorate of over 27.99 lakh, more than 5.57 lakh names were deleted, including 3.81 lakh people classified as absent or shifted. However, only 35,447 Form 6 applications had been received — just 6.36% of the deletions at the draft stage.  

In Raichur, where 30,733 people were marked as absent and 1,87,941 as shifted, only 28,034 Form 6 applications seeking inclusion had been received. The disparity is even sharper in Ballari, where only 11,685 Form 6 applications had been received against more than 1.51 lakh people excluded — marked as shifted or absent. 

Applications received after September 23 will not be reflected in the final electoral roll. Names approved for inclusion through applications filed after the cut-off date will figure in the supplementary list to be published after the final SIR rolls. 

Between September 24 and October 22, more than 2.55 lakh additional Form-6 applications were filed, taking the total number of applications, filed since June 16, to over 10.42 lakh. However, even this figure remains far below the 1.07 crore names deleted at the draft stage.  

Meanwhile, the number of Form 7 applications seeking deletion of names has risen sharply from 58,475 (as of September 23) to 2.28 lakh. More than 1.7 lakh applications seeking deletions were filed between September 24 and October 22.