Nearly 84.3 lakh voters, or around 15.2 per cent of Karnataka’s 5.5 crore registered electorate, have been flagged under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) category as part of the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The exercise, aimed at updating voter lists ahead of future elections, has placed Greater Bengaluru at the centre of attention, with the city accounting for 46.7 per cent of all ASDDO cases despite having about 1.03 crore registered voters.
Election officials have clarified that inclusion in the ASDDO list does not automatically result in deletion from the electoral roll and that every flagged case undergoes physical verification before any decision is taken.
Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbukumar said all ASDDO entries are verified through field visits, spot mahazars and witness signatures, while voters who believe they have been wrongly classified can seek corrections until August 8 through Booth Level Officers (BLOs) or later by filing Form 6 before the final electoral roll is published on October 19.
The revision exercise has also drawn criticism from opposition parties, with the BJP and JD(S) raising concerns over procedural lapses, allegations that the Election Commission has denied, insisting the process is being conducted under established guidelines with safeguards against wrongful exclusion.
Bengaluru Sees Highest Share
Data released by the Karnataka Election Department shows that the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA) has emerged as the state’s largest concentration of ASDDO cases, reflecting the challenges of maintaining accurate electoral rolls in a rapidly growing metropolitan region.
In BBMP South district, the number of electors identified under the ASDDO category has reportedly exceeded the number of voters whose enumeration forms have been completed and digitised by Booth Level Officers. Nine Assembly constituencies Dasarahalli, CV Raman Nagar, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Rajajinagar, Bommanahalli, Vijayanagar, BTM Layout, Basavanagudi and Govindarajanagar have recorded a higher proportion of ASDDO entries than digitised voter records.
Officials attribute this trend largely to Bengaluru’s high population mobility, including frequent migration for employment, rental housing turnover, a floating workforce and gated residential communities that can complicate door-to-door verification. Explaining the verification process, Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbukumar said, “Voters marked as ASDDO are not required to fill the enumeration form.
In all such cases, field verification has been completed and spot mahazars have been prepared in the presence of witnesses, with signatures of either BLAs, local residents or BLO supervisors, as applicable.”
He added that duplicate entries are confirmed through self-declarations, while deceased electors are verified using death certificates or field verification reports signed by witnesses. Individuals who decline to cooperate during verification are categorised under the “Others” category.
Safeguards And Political Debate
Election officials have emphasised that the revision exercise includes multiple safeguards to prevent eligible voters from being wrongly excluded. According to the Election Department, ASDDO lists are being shared with Booth Level Agents (BLAs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and local political representatives to facilitate cross-verification before any changes are finalised.
Electoral Registration Officers have the authority to reverse incorrect classifications, while Booth Level Officers can update records until August 8, when the current phase of enumeration concludes. Citizens who miss this deadline can still apply for inclusion by submitting Form 6 before the publication of the revised electoral roll on October 19.
Officials say more than 92 per cent of Karnataka’s electorate has already been accounted for through 76.9 per cent digitised enumeration forms and 15.2 per cent ASDDO records, expressing confidence that complete coverage will be achieved within the statutory timeline. However, the exercise has also become politically contentious.
The BJP and JD(S) have questioned aspects of the revision process, alleging irregularities in form distribution and field verification. The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer has rejected allegations of bias, maintaining that the Special Intensive Revision is being carried out in accordance with Election Commission of India guidelines and that complaints are being examined individually.
Following some complaints, notices were reportedly issued to certain Booth Level Officers for procedural deviations, while officials reiterated that mandatory door-to-door verification remains central to the exercise.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Maintaining accurate electoral rolls is essential to safeguarding the integrity of democratic elections, but the process must be accompanied by transparency, accountability and accessible grievance redressal to ensure that no eligible citizen is inadvertently deprived of their right to vote. Large urban centres such as Bengaluru, where migration and changing residential patterns are common, naturally pose greater administrative challenges, making careful verification even more important.
At the same time, public confidence in electoral processes depends not only on administrative efficiency but also on open communication, political cooperation and timely corrections whenever genuine errors occur. The Election Commission’s assurance that voters flagged under the ASDDO category are not automatically removed and have multiple opportunities to seek corrections is a crucial safeguard, but widespread public awareness will be equally important in ensuring that eligible voters remain on the rolls.
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