Actor Prakash Raj and civil society groups have petitioned Karnataka’s government, alleging that 1.09 crore voters were incorrectly flagged for deletion during the latest electoral roll revision. The campaigners, citing concerns over mass disenfranchisement in Bengaluru, are demanding a three-month extension for the enumeration process to ensure eligible citizens are not excluded.
Actor Prakash Raj, along with several civil society organizations, has launched a formal protest against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka. The groups are calling for urgent government intervention, alleging that the current process threatens to disenfranchise a large number of citizens.
At the heart of the issue is the classification of approximately 1.09 crore voters across Karnataka under the ASDDO category, which stands for Absent, Shifted, Deceased, Duplicate, or Otherwise. Activists argue that this mass flagging, if not corrected, could lead to legitimate voters being removed from the electoral rolls without proper verification.
Concerns are especially high regarding Bengaluru, where campaigners claim that a significant portion of the city's electorate is at risk of deletion. The coalition of groups, including Eddelu Karnataka and the Namma Matha Namma Hakku Vedike, has highlighted instances where deletion proposals appeared in high numbers at specific polling stations. These organizations describe the process as a potential grave injustice to the city's residents.
Actor Prakash Raj has brought personal attention to the matter, revealing that his own voter status was marked as shifted following the revision. While local authorities have stated that this classification occurred after standard address verification, the actor and his fellow campaigners have contested the transparency and accuracy of the procedure.
The protesting groups are urging the Karnataka Chief Minister to seek a three-month extension for the current enumeration process. Their primary demand is for a more thorough, year-long systematic revision that includes fresh, transparent door-to-door verification for anyone marked as shifted or absent. They argue that simply removing names without proper physical confirmation is fundamentally flawed.
The Election Commission and local electoral authorities have maintained that the revision is a routine administrative exercise required to update voter databases. They have emphasized that verification protocols are in place. However, the civil society coalition remains skeptical. They have warned that if their demands for a more transparent revision are not met, they are prepared to escalate the matter to the state assembly and potentially seek recourse through the Supreme Court to ensure that no eligible voter is wrongfully removed.