BENGALURU: Actor and activist Prakash Raj and several civil society members were detained by Bengaluru Police on Tuesday during an ‘Election Commission Chalo’ march at Freedom Park, as protesters stepped up opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka.The protesters raised concerns over the process and alleged flaws in the voter-roll revision exercise. A large crowd gathered for the demonstration, which was also attended by actor Kishore, news agency ANI reported.Speaking to the media, Prakash Raj said, “SIR has to be scrapped. Karnataka will not sleep until it is scrapped…We will go to the court. We will fight for every citizen of this country.”
Prakash Raj questions Election Commission process
Earlier, Prakash Raj had also questioned the manner in which the Election Commission was selected and raised concerns over the legal protection available to election officials.“Even before the SSR began, the process of selecting the Election Commission was undemocratic. With two members from the ruling party and only one from the opposition, where is the democracy in that? Furthermore, the government decided in Parliament to grant judicial immunity to the Election Commission, ensuring that no case can be filed against any officer for the rest of their lives.”“In a democratic system, judicial immunity is typically reserved for Supreme Court judges. Why extend it to an entire organisation? It creates a situation where they feel they can do anything without being held accountable.”He also questioned the time frame of the revision exercise.“For how many years will a voter of this country, a citizen, have to run after the courts? Why are you putting every voter in this country through so much trouble? And in Karnataka, there are still two years left; it’s not urgent. What was the need to do this in just one month? he added.”Prakash Raj also questioned the treatment of voters marked as absent or permanently shifted, arguing that they should get an opportunity to establish their eligibility instead of being asked to re-enrol through Form 6.
Actor Kishore demands inclusion of every eligible voter
Kishore said the protest was fundamentally about transparency and protecting the voting rights of eligible citizens.“Transparency and the time required for such a huge process to happen. The basic intention behind the protest is that it is a basic right. Nobody has the right or the power to snatch away that right. So every eligible voter should be in the voter list. This fight will go on till every voter eligible to vote in India is registered in the voter list.”
What Karnataka’s draft voter roll shows
The protest comes after the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer published the draft electoral roll following the SIR-2026 exercise.The enumeration process was conducted from June 30 to August 17 through house-to-house verification by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across the state.According to the CEO’s office, the draft roll contains 4,46,35,975 electors, including 2,24,73,864 female voters, 2,21,59,240 male voters and 2,871 third-gender electors.The roll also includes 44,176 service electors and 3,70,341 young voters in the 18-19 age group.During enumeration, 1,07,96,339 entries, or 19.48% of the total, were identified under the ASDDO categories — Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others.The remaining 4.46 crore electors have been retained in the active voter base. However, the CEO’s office said 20.35 lakh electors had been flagged for anomalies and another 23.45 lakh placed under the NoMapping category.Together, the two categories account for more than 43.8 lakh voters. Notices will be issued to these electors, who will be required to respond and establish their eligibility for inclusion in the final electoral roll.The qualifying date for the revision has been fixed as October 1, 2026.
Claims, objections open till September 23
The period for filing claims and objections will continue from August 24 to September 23, 2026. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 27, 2026.The CEO’s office has urged citizens to check their details in the draft roll and submit claims or objections within the prescribed period to ensure that eligible voters are included in the final list.(With agency inputs)
