K'taka: 99.32 lakh names deleted after SIR, voter count at 4.55 crore

The EC on Tuesday published the final electoral roll in Karnataka across all 224 Assembly Constituencies in the state, deleting nearly one crore names in the wake of the SIR process, and ruled out the possibility of officials mass generating the form related to deletion of names. In the final roll, the southern state has 4.55 crore voters, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V Anbukkumar told reporters in Bengaluru. Responding to media reports that officials had generated around 60,000 Form 7 applications to delete voters, Anbukkumar said there was no provision for bulk generation of such forms. Each had to be generated in the name of the competent officer following the prescribed inquiry and an order, he said. He urged voters to check their details in the final roll and asked eligible people whose names were missing to submit Form 6 for inclusion.

Karnataka Electoral Roll 2026: Voter base reaches 4.55 crore as 99.32 lakh names deleted. No arbitrary deletions via bulk Form 7; process fully transparent, says CEO Bengaluru The final electoral roll for #Karnataka has officially reached 4,55,00,011 electors following the conclusion of a state-wide Special Intensive Revision (#SIR) across all 224 Assembly constituencies, Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbukumar announced on Tuesday. ​Addressing the media following the publication of the final list, Anbukumar strongly dismissed political allegations that voter names were deleted arbitrarily due to large-scale objection filings through #Form7. He affirmed that not a single voter name was deleted from the draft roll merely because Form 7 submissions arrived in bulk, clarifying that every removal occurred strictly after due verification and the issuance of formal speaking orders by statutory authorities. He added that constituency-wise data has been compiled and made fully accessible to the public. ​With the qualifying date established as October 1, 2026, the updated electorate comprises 4,54,55,689 general electors and 44,322 service electors, marking a net addition of 8,19,860 voters compared to the draft roll published in August. ​Women voters continue to outnumber men in the state. The final tally includes 2,29,14,063 female electors, 2,25,83,107 male electors, and 2,841 third-gender electors. This demographic distribution improved the state's gender ratio from 1,014 females per 1,000 males in the draft roll to 1,017 in the final list, while the elector-to-population ratio rose to between 66.11% and 66.91%, prompting the CEO to note that Karnataka stands better across all key demographic parameters. ​The revision exercise, undertaken on instructions from the Election Commission of India, began with door-to-door enumeration visits between June 30 and August 17. Out of 5,54,32,314 electors recorded in mid-June, 4,46,35,975 individuals,representing 80.52 percent of the baseline,submitted signed enumeration forms to Booth Level Officers. The remaining 1,07,96,339 unreturned forms were categorized under the Absentee, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate framework, which identified 65.45 lakh permanently shifted voters, 19 lakh absentees, 16.39 lakh deceased individuals, and 7.09 lakh duplicate enrollments. ​Following the publication of the draft roll on August 24, election authorities processed over 43.82 lakh statutory notices and conducted individual hearings. The subsequent claims and objections phase yielded 10,08,038 additions, including 8.77 lakh via Form 6 and 1.28 lakh inter - constituency transfers via Form 8. A total of 1,88,324 names were struck off the rolls, primarily accounting for 1.24 lakh shifted electors and 61,867 individuals found ineligible during hearings. ​Outlining safeguards against wrongful exclusion, the CEO stated that lists of omitted names were printed and distributed to political parties, uploaded to the official election portal, and marked with physical notices on households within #Bengaluru's civic limits where forms went uncollected. Senior field officials, including District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers, supervised every deletion order. ​Urging citizens who were left off the roll to seek inclusion, Anbukumar noted that the enrollment window remains open through #Form6, calling specifically upon youth turning 18 to submit their applications promptly to secure their voting rights. @ceo_karnataka @ECISVEEP @BJP4Karnataka @INCKarnataka @hd_kumaraswamy @prakashraaj

— Yasir Mushtaq (@path2shah) October 27, 2026

The number of voters declined by 99.32 lakh following the publication of the final rolls.The state’s electorate has fallen from 5,54,32,314 before the revision to 4,55,00,011 in the final roll. The revised list comprises 2,25,83,107 male voters, 2,29,14,063 female voters and 2,841 third-gender electors, according to the chief electoral officer’s office. More than 6.83 lakh voters are aged 18-19, while 3,92,134 are aged 85 and above. The roll also includes 3,252 non-resident Indian voters.
Anbukkumar said the Election Commission had scheduled the revision from 30 June to 27 October. The draft electoral roll was published on 24 August, followed by the processing of applications, notices, inquiries and hearings before the final list was released. The draft roll had listed 4,46,80,151 electors. Since 16 June, 8,19,714 electors have been added to the roll, he said. Between 16 June and 26 October, authorities received approximately 26.23 lakh applications, including 10,62,336 Form 6 applications for inclusion, 4,872 Form 6A applications, 2,29,235 Form 7 applications for deletion and around 13.27 lakh Form 8 applications for corrections and other changes. Of these applications, around 20.64 lakh were accepted, 3.03 lakh rejected and 2.55 lakh remained pending, according to the chief electoral officer. All but around 4,000 applications were submitted online.
Anbukkumar said 10,08,038 electors were added and 1,88,324 deleted following the disposal of claims and objections and the completion of prescribed procedures. A further 8,96,519 modifications were made to the draft roll. Of the deletions, 1,091 related to deceased electors, 184 to absent electors, 762 to duplicate entries or people already enrolled, and 1,24,327 to changes of residence. Around 61,960 people were found ineligible after notices and hearings.

(State Correspondent)