SIR: 2.41 lakh voters removed from ASDDO list; dead, duplicate categories rise in Karnataka

At least 2.41 lakh names were removed from the Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, Dead and Others (ASDDO) list between August 5 — a day after the ASDDO list was made public — and August 12, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V. Anbu Kumar said on Wednesday (August 12).

However, during the same period, the number of voters categorised as dead, already enrolled, or duplicate increased.

The figures point to the number of voters who were wrongly categorised under ASDDO, while also pointing out how many such cases continue to remain on the list even after enumeration forms were returned to Booth Level Officers (BLOs), as a voter cannot be categorised under ASDDO if the enumeration form is returned.

The CEO, however, said that of the 2.41 lakh cases removed, 80,492 were categorised under ‘Others’, or as voters ‘refusing to sign’. These voters may have initially refused to sign the enumeration forms but may have later agreed to do so.

According to the figures, 85,267 voters were removed from the ‘Absent’ category, while another 95,037 were removed from the ‘Permanently Shifted’ category. In many of these cases, voters had filled out and returned their enumeration forms. The CEO, however, defended that corrections could be made in such cases.

At the same time, the number of voters categorised as dead increased by 6,796, from 16.29 lakh to 16.36 lakh. The number of duplicate voters also rose by 12,918, from 6.88 lakh to 7.01 lakh.

The changes came even after districts reported achieving “100% digitisation” of enumeration forms, indicating that the forms had been distributed, returned, and the information entered into the system. However, the CEO said BLOs could continue to print forms until the enumeration phase ends, raising questions about how the exercise could be described as having achieved 100% digitisation.

Rationalisation of polling stations

Rationalisation of polling stations has been done across the State, Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar said, adding that the number of polling stations has increased from 59,050 to 60,898.

The exercise was carried out to ensure that each polling station has no more than 1,200 voters based on the existing number of electors. As part of the exercise, 15 existing polling stations were reduced and merged, while 293 polling stations were shifted or saw a change in location. Overall, there has been a net increase/decrease of 1,848 polling stations across the State, the CEO said.

Source: The Hindu