Karnataka's final SIR voter roll drops 99 lakh names; Bengaluru falls 43%
By Meera IyerGovernance & Policy Editor, Peepals Bharat
Representative image: 777546 / Pixabay
Karnataka's final voter roll after the Special Intensive Revision, published on 27 October 2026, lists 4.55 crore voters, 99.32 lakh fewer than before; Bengaluru's electorate fell 43%.
What Happened
Karnataka's final electoral roll after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), published on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, lists 4.55 crore voters, down from 5.54 crore before the exercise began, a net fall of 99.32 lakh names. The biggest change is in Bengaluru, where the electorate fell by about 43% to 59.08 lakh from around 1.03 crore. The Congress has alleged that deletion forms were used in bulk against minorities, which the state's Chief Electoral Officer, V. Anbukkumar, has denied.
Key Facts
- Statewide: 4.55 crore voters on the final roll, against 5.54 crore before the SIR; net deletion of 99.32 lakh names.
- The draft roll had removed 1.08 crore names; some were added back after claims and objections.
- Bengaluru: 59.08 lakh voters, a fall of 43.13%.
- Constituencies with the most deletions: Bengaluru South (3.63 lakh), Mahadevapura (2.96 lakh), Bommanahalli (2.65 lakh) and K R Puram (2.58 lakh).
- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that pre-filled Form 7 applications, the form used to object to a name on the roll, were used to target Muslims and minorities.
- The Chief Electoral Officer said Form 7 entries were generated by electoral registration officers only for voters found ineligible after hearings, and that no name was deleted on the basis of bulk Form 7 applications alone.
- The CEO said fewer than 1,000 foreign nationals were identified on the rolls; reports say most of them were from Nepal.
Why It Matters
The voter list decides who can vote. A Special Intensive Revision is a house-to-house re-verification of every voter, done by booth-level officers, to remove names of people who have died, moved away or are listed twice, and to add eligible voters who are missing. The Election Commission has been carrying out such revisions in several states, and they have been closely watched because of their scale.
Karnataka's numbers are large by any measure. A fall of nearly one crore names means close to one in five entries on the old roll is gone. In Bengaluru, a large city where many people rent and move house, nearly half of the old entries have been removed. The question now is how many of those were people who had died, moved or were listed twice, and how many were eligible voters who should have stayed on the list.
The dispute over Form 7 goes to the heart of the process. Any voter can file Form 7 to object to another person's inclusion, and the registration officer must hear the person before deleting a name. The Congress says this tool was misused against particular communities; the election office says it was used only after hearings found people ineligible. Reports also say the Supreme Court has issued notice to the Election Commission on petitions over SIR irregularities.
| Area | Before SIR | Final roll |
|---|---|---|
| Karnataka | 5.54 crore | 4.55 crore |
| Bengaluru | About 1.03 crore | 59.08 lakh |
Impact
Short-term: Residents whose names are missing can still apply to be added: the CEO has said the roll is updated continuously and that publication of the final roll does not end the process. Political parties are likely to press the issue in the courts and on the streets.
Long-term: A cleaner roll can reduce bogus or duplicate voting, but only if eligible voters who were removed get back on. The outcome of court cases on the SIR may shape how such revisions are carried out in other states.
Who is affected: Voters across Karnataka, especially in Bengaluru; migrant workers and tenants who move often; political parties; and election officials.
Key Takeaway
Karnataka's SIR has cut nearly one crore names from the voter roll, including close to half of Bengaluru's entries, and the opposition and the election office disagree sharply on how the deletions were made.
Questions and Answers
How many names were removed from Karnataka's voter list in the SIR?
The final roll published on 27 October 2026 lists 4.55 crore voters, compared with 5.54 crore before the revision, a net deletion of 99.32 lakh names.
How much did Bengaluru's electorate fall?
Bengaluru's electorate fell by about 43%, to 59.08 lakh from around 1.03 crore. Bengaluru South, Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli and K R Puram saw the most deletions.
What is the Form 7 controversy?
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that pre-filled Form 7 objections were used to target minorities. Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbukkumar said forms were generated only after hearings found voters ineligible and no one was removed on bulk applications alone.
What can I do if my name is missing from the voter list?
You can apply to be added by filing Form 6 with your electoral registration officer or online through the Election Commission's voter services. The Chief Electoral Officer has said the roll continues to be updated after the final publication.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Meera Iyer, Governance & Policy EditorCovers Governance & Policy and more for Peepals Bharat. All stories by Meera Iyer
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Meera Iyer is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
