India launches nationwide voter roll verification drive

A month-long nationwide voter list verification drive began on Tuesday, June 30, with officials conducting door-to-door visits in several states, including Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Meghalaya. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, directed by the Election Commission of India, aims to update and clean the electoral rolls by adding new voters and removing duplicate, deceased, or relocated individuals.

In Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar urged all residents to participate, warning that voters who fail to complete the verification process risk having their names removed from the rolls. State Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar clarified that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would only distribute and collect enumeration forms during the house-to-house visits ending on July 29 and would not collect any documentary proof at this stage. Each of the state's approximately 5.55 crore voters will receive two copies of a pre-printed form to fill out; one copy will be kept by the voter as an acknowledgement.

The process follows a standardized timeline across participating states. After the door-to-door survey concludes on July 29, draft electoral...