Karnataka SIR: 16 districts, mostly backward, report over 12% voters under ASDDO

The report released by the Govind Rao Committee indicates that 16 districts in Karnataka, predominantly among the state's least developed regions, have over 12% of their registered voters falling under the Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, Dead and Others (ASDDO) category. These districts encompass Koppal, Gadag, Kolar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Dharwad, Kodagu, Mysuru, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Bidar, Ballari, Davangere, Shivamogga, and Vijayanagar.

The report categorizes most of these districts as "most backward" or "more backward," highlighting their significant lagging indicators such as Human Development Index (HDI) and gender disparity.

Moreover, these districts also exhibit high rates of labor migration, lower educational attainment, limited access to public services, and higher documentation gaps which often result in the misclassification of voters as absent or shifted. BLOs explain that many of these voters work in cities like Bengaluru but maintain their registration in their villages, leading to their registration being marked as "absent" when they are away.

Additionally, many voters who have migrated to cities for work and voted there have subsequently become untraceable in their original constituencies and the Bengaluru rolls.

Given the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), these voters remain unaware of their status, as no prior notices are issued under the current revision process. Instead, officials are solely relying on mahazars, or community centers, to verify voter details. Despite the Chief Electoral Officer's assurances that mahazars are being conducted and neighbors notified, BLOs argue that this approach is ineffective as entire communities are often transient and neighbors may not be aware of the voters' whereabouts.

In Bengaluru, among the nearly 34.25 lakh voters under the ASDDO classification, 3.95 lakh are marked as "shifted." In districts where people commonly migrate, such as Kalaburagi, 5.20 lakh voters are under ASDDO, with 3.95 lakh classified as absent or shifted. However, officials have not clarified how these voters are being accounted for, as their current status remains an unresolved issue.