Unkind cuts: On the Telangana and Karnataka electoral rolls
The Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision process has led to significant deletions of names from electoral rolls in Telangana and Karnataka. Critics argue that the scale of these cuts, particularly in major cities, suggests potential disenfranchisement and a lack of transparency in the ECI's methodology.
Why it matters
The integrity of electoral rolls is fundamental to democratic participation; large-scale deletions without clear justification raise concerns about voter suppression.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) is increasingly leading to a clear case of disenfranchisement in several parts of India. Marauding on after a judgment by the Supreme Court of India allowed it to proceed, the SIR has now struck out a fifth of the names from the electoral rolls in Telangana and Karnataka — nearly 22% and 19.5% respectively — and among the highest in the country. The cuts are steepest in their capital cities — five constituencies in Bengaluru have lost more than half of their electors while nine of Hyderabad’s 15 have seen deletions of more than 40% . Cuts of this kind cannot simply be a trimming of bloated rolls at the margins.
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