BENGALURU The Election Commission of India will begin a month-long door-to-door verification of Karnataka’s electoral rolls on Tuesday, with election officials asking more than 5.5 crore voters to complete and return census forms even as the Congress insists its concerns over the process must be addressed first.
The state machinery has completed preparations for the special intensive review of the 2026 electoral roll and booth-level officials are scheduled to visit households from June 30 to July 29, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukumar said. The eligible date for review is 1 October 2026. The draft electoral roll will be published on 5 August, followed by a claims and objections period until 4 September. Notifications, where necessary, will be issued and disposed of by 3 October before the publication of the final electoral list on 7 October.
“As far as Karnataka is concerned, the entire machinery is geared up for this exercise. We have deployed 68,123 officials, such as 59,050 booth level officers, 7,556 booth level supervisors and 224 electoral registration officers. All the officers, right from the chief electoral officer to the district level officials, have been trained and are ready for this exercise,” Anbukumar said.
The Census forms for over 5.54 crore voters whose names appeared in the electoral roll as on June 16 have been printed and distributed to booth level officials, the chief electoral officer said. Voters were asked to attach photos, complete the required information, sign the forms and return them during home visits.
He said: “Our associations will begin distributing forms to all voters whose names appear on the 2026 electoral list from June 30 to July 29.”
Anbukumar said the electoral register was frozen on June 16, when the number of registered voters in Karnataka was 55,432,314. According to him, 91.61% of voter mapping has already been completed, with 126 Assembly constituencies having crossed 95% mapping and 173 of the 224 assembly constituencies in the state having crossed 90%. The rest of the work will continue until the end of July.
He said each census form will display the name and mobile phone number of the designated employee at the booth level. Two types of stickers were also issued: one confirming the delivery of a form and the other for closed homes indicating the date of the officer’s next visit. Voter registration centers have also been set up at gram panchayat level.
Anbukumar said the forms were partially pre-filled and would be converted into digital form after voters return them. He also explained that staff at the booth level were instructed not to collect any documents during the counting phase.
He said: “Documents may only be requested from those who receive notification after the publication of the draft electoral list if there is any discrepancy in its details. In such cases, the notification specifies the discrepancy, the documents required for verification, and the period within which the response must be submitted.”
Responding to questions about transparency, Anbukumar said that the process is carried out strictly in accordance with the law. Regarding Congress’ allegations of discrepancies in the details of booth-level officials posted on the Chief Electoral Officer’s website, he said: “We have uploaded the information on our website and already updated it. If there are any errors, we will correct them. However, I am confident that we have made every effort to provide accurate information.”
Asked about the BJP’s complaint regarding a separate special intensive review exercise for Greater Bengaluru Authority wards by the State Election Commission, Anbukumar said: “I can only comment on the SIR conducted by the Election Commission of India. I cannot comment on any exercise conducted by the State Election Commission.”
Earlier on Monday, Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said the Election Commission should answer questions submitted by the Congress before initiating the review process. He said the party has sent written objections to the Chief Election Commissioner outlining eight to ten concerns and that the state government will consult Chief Minister D K Shivakumar before deciding its next course of action.
“The Election Commission should first answer the questions raised by the Congress regarding the SIR exercise. Only after addressing these concerns should it proceed with the review of electoral rolls in Karnataka,” Karg said.
Karg said Congress wants clarification on how the Election Commission defines a “logical contradiction,” the reasons for removing a voter from the electoral roll and the procedures that will be followed before any removal. He said legal notices should be issued, speaking orders issued and affected voters given the opportunity to seek redress before the appropriate court.
“So far, the Election Commission has not given any clarification. We have submitted our concerns in writing not only to the Election Commission of India but also to the State Election Commission. We are yet to receive any response,” he said.
Karg said Congress supports routine review of the electoral registry as part of the Election Commission’s constitutional responsibility but raised concerns about similar practices conducted in other states. He also requested details about the reported use of artificial intelligence during the review process, including how the software worked and whether it had been independently audited.
