Despite being IT hub, Bengaluru lags in electoral roll digitisation

Despite being the country’s IT hub, Bengaluru is lagging behind several districts in the digitisation of Enumeration Forms (EFs) under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In a bid to accelerate the exercise, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has deployed four senior officers to monitor progress and strengthen quality checks in the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) region.

Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar told The Hindu that the officers had been tasked with reviewing digitisation, identifying bottlenecks and supporting district election officials in improving the pace of the exercise.

“Their role is to monitor the digitisation work, review the progress and provide support wherever necessary. The responsibility for the exercise, however, continues to rest with the Deputy Commissioners and District Election Officers,” he said.

As of Thursday, official data showed that the GBA region accounted for 27.65 lakh ASDDO (Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others) cases, while only around 34.29% of the Enumeration Forms have been digitised.

The region has recorded 5.28 lakh electors classified as absent, 19.43 lakh as shifted, 2.56 lakh as dead, 31,164 as duplicate and 6,249 under the “others” category.

Several Assembly constituencies in Bengaluru require closer monitoring in terms of digitisation. These include Bommanahalli, Vijayanagar, Gandhinagar, Shanti Nagar, Rajajinagar, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Govindarajanagar, C.V. Raman Nagar, Basavanagudi, B.T.M. Layout, Chickpet, Dasarahalli, Jayanagar, K.R. Puram, Malleswaram, Padmanabhanagar, Bengaluru South, Sarvagnanagar, Hebbal and Mahalakshmi Layout.

In contrast, rural constituencies such as Mayakonda, Hangal, Chickballapur, Yemkanmardi, Navalgund, Karkala, Sorab, Kumta, Honnali, Bagepalli, Sagar, Channagiri, Melukote, Bailhongal, Harihar, Shiggaon, Hirekerur, Arsikere, Tirthahalli and Sirsi have recorded comparatively higher levels of digitisation.

Urban challenges

Mr. Anbu Kumar said Bengaluru’s slower progress was largely due to the challenges of reaching voters in a large urban centre.

“In Bengaluru, reaching voters is more difficult because of apartment complexes, gated communities and the availability of residents at home. These factors affect both the collection and digitisation of forms,” he said.

He said that election officials in many rural areas were more familiar with local communities, making it easier to contact voters and complete the exercise.

Offcers assigned

To improve the pace of digitisation, the Election Commission has assigned specific Assembly constituencies to senior officers for closer monitoring.

While Joint CEO V. Raghavendra has been entrusted with the task of overseeing Gandhinagar, Shanti Nagar, Rajajinagar, Rajarajeshwarinagar and Chickpet, Joint CEO S. Yogeshwar has been assigned C.V. Raman Nagar, K.R. Puram, Malleswaram, Mahalakshmi Layout, Sarvagnanagar and Hebbal.

Likewise, Deputy CEO Vandana Bhat has been assigned the task of monitoring Bommanahalli, Vijayanagar, Govindarajanagar, Basavanagudi, B.T.M. Layout, Jayanagar and Padmanabhanagar. Senior Consultant P.S. Vastrad has been entrusted with Dasarahalli and Bengaluru South.

Apart from reviewing progress, the officers will ensure proper scanning of voter photographs and signatures, verify ASDDO classifications and examine objections raised by political parties, he said.

Next phase

Mr. Kumar said the distribution of Enumeration Forms across Karnataka has been completed for all 55,432,314 electors. The next phase will involve collecting the filled forms from voters and digitising them within the stipulated timeline.

“Distribution was one major task. The next major exercise is collecting the completed forms from voters and ensuring that they are digitised,” he said.

With around 17 days remaining for the revision exercise, election officials will intensify efforts to complete the collection and digitisation process across the State, he added.