World · India Bureau
Karnataka Minister Defends Mass Voter Roll Purge As Procedurally Sound
A senior Congress minister in Karnataka has defended the state's special intensive review of electoral rolls that resulted in nearly 10 million names being removed, saying the exercise was conducted properly and the deletions were justified.
LSN India ·
Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Monday backed the state's special intensive revision (SIR) of voter rolls, asserting that the process was executed correctly despite widespread controversy over the scale of name removals.
Jarkiholi said that approximately one crore names struck from the electoral register belonged to deceased persons, those who had relocated to other states, or individuals whose names appeared multiple times in the voter database. He characterized these deletions as routine administrative corrections necessary for maintaining accurate electoral rolls.
The minister acknowledged, however, that his concerns lay not with Karnataka's implementation but with how other states might apply similar revision procedures. His comments appeared designed to distinguish between the technical soundness of the state's exercise and broader questions about standardization across India's electoral processes.
The Karnataka voter roll purge has drawn scrutiny from various quarters, with critics questioning whether legitimate voters may have been inadvertently removed. Election officials have said the revision was conducted as per prescribed protocols, though opposition parties have demanded greater transparency and an opportunity for affected voters to file appeals.