Dakshina Kannada’s voter list has fallen by 1,25,318 names after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), even as the district added 41,125 voters and made 53,806 corrections, the district election officer said on Tuesday.
The final electoral roll contains 16,78,448 eligible voters, compared with 18,03,766 before the revision process began. The draft roll published on August 24 had 16,46,387 names. After claims, objections and applications were processed, the number increased by 32,061 from the draft list.
Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer Darshan H.V. said officials had removed 9,064 names after the draft roll was published. Of these, 321 belonged to deceased voters, 7,937 to people who had permanently moved away, 766 were duplicate entries and 40 belonged to people holding foreign citizenship.
The revision process involved door-to-door verification by Booth Level Officers between June 30 and August 17, according to the report. Officials collected information on voters who had died, moved permanently or appeared in electoral rolls at more than one location.
Among the additions after publication of the draft roll, 32,986 voters were enrolled through Form 6 applications for new registration. Another 357 non-resident Indian voters were added through Form 6A, while 7,782 voters who had shifted from other places were transferred to the district’s rolls.
Darshan said officials had ensured that no eligible voter was removed from the list. He said the 9,064 deletions were made after notices were issued during the SIR process. Of the deleted names, 1,392 voters were treated as ineligible after notices were served and hearings were conducted.
The district received 1,205 objections seeking deletion of names. Political parties’ Booth Level Agents submitted 942 of these applications, while 293 came from other applicants. Of the total, 879 were filed using Form 7; 788 carried signatures and 91 did not. Another 325 applications were submitted on blank sheets, according to the district election officer.
Darshan said only applications submitted by members of the concerned families were considered for deletions. No voter was removed solely on the basis of applications filed by others, he said. He added that officials had not found any case in which a person had deliberately submitted a malicious request to remove another voter’s name, and no cases had been registered.
The revision also identified 40 people holding citizenship of other countries in the district’s electoral roll. The list included 17 citizens of Nepal, two of the United Kingdom, five of Canada, six each of Australia and the United States, and one each from the Netherlands, South Africa, Ireland and Norway. The district election officer said India does not permit dual citizenship and that names were removed after foreign citizenship was confirmed.
Voters who received notices during the SIR process have been advised to check whether their names appear in the final electoral roll. The district administration said applications for additions and corrections would continue to be accepted if voters identify errors or omissions in the list.
