Bengaluru, Aug 24 (IANS) As per the schedule of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Draft Electoral Roll was published on Monday (August 24, 2026) by the concerned Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) of all 224 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka. A total of 1,07,96,339 electors have been marked as ASDDO: Absent, Permanently Shifted, Dead, Duplicate or Other during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The draft roll was published following the completion of the enumeration phase of SIR, which was conducted in Karnataka from June 30 to August 17 through house‑to‑house verification by Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
Booth‑wise lists of electors marked as ASDDO whose names have not been included in the draft roll have been displayed on the notice boards of the respective ERO offices. The lists, along with the probable reasons for non‑inclusion, have also been published on the Chief Electoral Officer’s website in an accessible format.
According to the data released by the Election Commission, Karnataka had 5,54,32,314 electors as on June 16, 2026. Of these, 4,46,35,975 electors, or 80.52 per cent, have been digitised and have submitted their Enumeration Forms.
Of the 1,07,96,339 electors marked ASDDO, 15,17,042 have been categorised as absent, 65,45,679 as permanently shifted, 16,39,864 as dead, 7,09,870 as already enrolled or duplicate, and 3,83,884 under the “Other” category.
The booth‑level lists of electors marked ASDDO were also shared with Booth Level Agents appointed by recognised political parties for verification.
Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar, addressing the media, said the house‑to‑house enumeration exercise had been completed within the scheduled period and thanked voters, political parties, media organisations, civil society groups and election officials who participated in the process.
He noted that, “As per the directions of the Election Commission of India, the house‑to‑house enumeration programme was conducted from June 30 to August 17, and today, on August 24, we are publishing the draft electoral roll.”
According to the draft electoral roll, Karnataka has 4,46,35,975 general electors. This includes 2,21,59,240 male electors, 2,24,73,864 female electors and 10,871 electors belonging to the third‑gender category.
There are around 3.70 lakh young electors aged between 18 and 19 years, around 5.55 lakh Persons with Disabilities (PwD), and approximately 3.92 lakh electors aged above 85 years.
The state has around 44,176 service electors and 951 NRI electors. Including service electors and general electors, the total comes to 4,46,80,151.
Anbu Kumar said 55.32 per cent of electors, amounting to around 2.47 crore voters, had mapped themselves as “Progeny”, while around 1.75 crore voters had mapped themselves as “Self”. Around 23.42 lakh voters had not provided mapping details.
The EROs will issue notices to electors whose previous SIR electoral roll details provided in the Enumeration Form are either unavailable or do not match the existing database.
The Election Commission has made it clear that no name can be deleted from the draft roll without an inquiry and a fair and reasonable opportunity being given to the concerned elector.
Under the prescribed procedure, electors can submit the necessary documents during the hearing. The list of acceptable documents is mentioned on the reverse side of the Enumeration Form.
As per the ECI guidelines, no name can be deleted from the draft roll published on August 24 without issuing a notice and passing a speaking order by the ERO or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO).
An elector aggrieved by an ERO’s decision can appeal to the District Magistrate under Section 24(a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, read with Rule 27 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. If the appellant remains dissatisfied, a second appeal can be filed before the Chief Electoral Officer within 30 days of the District Magistrate’s order.
Following rationalisation and rearrangement of polling stations, the Election Commission has identified around 1,873 additional polling stations in Karnataka in accordance with the prescribed norms.
To facilitate the notice and verification process, around 3,926 additional Assistant Electoral Registration Officers have also been identified. Anbu Kumar said these officers have been instructed to visit Gram Panchayat‑level areas to conduct inquiries and serve notices to electors wherever required.
The ECI has reiterated that the objective of the SIR is to ensure an error‑free, authentic and inclusive electoral roll through rigorous verification, while ensuring that no eligible elector is left out and no ineligible name remains on the rolls.
The period for filing claims and objections will be from August 24 to September 23, 2026. The notice phase and disposal of claims and objections will continue from August 24 to October 22.
The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 27, 2026. The qualifying date for the revision is October 1, 2026.
–IANS
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