Karnataka: Congress moves with caution as ECI prepares to launch month-long SIR on Tuesday

Bengaluru: The Congress is moving cautiously, attaching a lot of importance to the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise as the election commission of India (ECI) prepares to launch its house-to-house enumeration on June 30, Tuesday, in Karnataka. The ruling party is approaching the exercise with the suspicion that the BJP may interfere with the exercise.

The Congress was not opposed to SIR, home minister Priyank Kharge told media on Monday. But no voter should lose his or her franchise merely because of spelling mistakes or minor discrepancies in their names. The election commission has not provided any clarification, he added.

The ECI said the voter enumeration from house visits will go on till July 29, and draft rolls will be out on August 5. Voters, however, can file claims or objections to the draft rolls till September 4. The ECI will notify the final voter rolls on October 7 after examining the objections.


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"The election commission should first answer the questions raised by Congress regarding the SIR exercise. Only after addressing those concerns, should it proceed with the revision of the electoral rolls," Kharge said.

The Congress has raised eight to ten issues objections, one of which seeks clarification on what the commission meant by 'logical discrepancy'. “On what basis can a voter be removed from the electoral roll? If a voter's name is to be deleted, a legal notice must be issued, a speaking order must be passed, and the individual should be given an opportunity to present their case,” the home minister said.

The Congress has been conducting a statewide outreach campaign since June 23, raising awareness about the SIR to ensure its traditional support base does not lose voting rights during the exercise. The party’s last public meeting will be held in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

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The party has accorded high priority to the Election Commission of India's SIR exercise. It has constituted teams at the revenue division level, appointing two observers for each district and one observer for each of the state's 224 assembly constituencies.

Congress SIR committee convenor VR Sudarshan said block-level agents (BLAs) have been directed to undertake door-to-door campaigns and educate voters about the revision process.

At the recent Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, several MLAs expressed concerns over the possible deletion of voters during the revision process, particularly of SC/STs, minorities and backward classes.

The seriousness with which the party is approaching the exercise was reflected in Shivakumar's recent interaction with voters in Kanakapura. "Everyone must be cautious about SIR. If you assume your vote is secure and remain idle, the vote could be lost. Everyone must submit applications again. If you do not apply, you will have no vote and could also lose the benefits of government schemes," Shivakumar told voters in Kanakapura on June 7.