SIR hearings descend into confusion and chaos on Day 1 in Bengaluru

While some voters had come to collect their notices, many did not know what a “logical discrepancy” meant, why their name had been marked as “not mapped” or what they were expected to prove.

Updated - September 05, 2026 10:51 pm IST - Bengaluru

BLOs issuing notices to residents of RT Nagar as part of the SIR in Bengaluru on Friday. (September 4). | Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.

On the first day of hearing for voters in Bengaluru under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), some questions were commonly heard in the single-room offices of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across multiple centres -- “Can you give me my notice?”, “Is my name there?”, “What documents do I have to show?”...

While some had come to collect their notices, many did not know what a “logical discrepancy” meant or why their name had been marked as “not mapped” or what they were expected to prove.

At a BBMP ward office in C.V. Raman Nagar constituency, 82-year-old wheelchair-bound Selva Raj had arrived with three photocopies each of his Aadhaar and ration card. He had assumed these documents would help establish that he had been living in and voting from the same constituency, against his notice flagged for “no mapping”. Mr. Selva Raj did not know that they were not among the 11 accepted documents.

“This is no less than mental harassment,” he said, pointing to the wheelchair.

The hearing across the city left voters — particularly the elderly who struggled to reach the venue and those who were clueless about the process — scrambling to understand what they had to do, and exposed the lack of awareness among the public.

At hearing venues in C.V. Raman Nagar, Cox Town and parts of Central Bengaluru visited by The Hindu, people and BLOs were equally anxious and confused.

Within the small space occupied by at least 100 voters at Cox Town BBMP ward office, people were pushing past each other to find their names on the list of voters issued notices and show them to their BLO. Many did not know that they first had to establish that their name was on the list before approaching the BLO.

At another venue in Cox Town, the BLO was left scanning notices while also trying to locate the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) who was supposed to conduct the hearings. The AERO was nowhere to be found as voters waited. At another venue in the same area, an AERO himself was seen struggling with the scanning process.

Many voters, like Samar Halarnkar, son of a former IPS officer, could not even get a copy of their notice amid the overwhelming crowd. Mr. Halarnkar and his 90-year-old mother had received notices for a hearing later this month. Like many others, he thought that the process was over and that their names were secure because they appeared in the draft rolls.

However, he learnt about the notice through a WhatsApp group and had to go himself to get a copy, though the process states that BLOs should serve the notice and click and upload a photograph of it.

The college where the two are expected to appear for the hearing is at the end of a dug-up lane accessible only by two-wheelers, he said, arguing that there was no chance his 90-year-old, wheelchair-bound mother could get there.

Much like during the enumeration phase, confusion over documents persisted. Many voters said they had no idea which documents to carry. “We thought the process would be similar to enumeration, but this time only physical verification would be done, where BLOs would check the form and ask for Aadhaar, PAN or ration card,” David, a voter from Indiranagar, said.

Many voters the The Hindu met said they did not have birth certificates, let alone passports. Several women said they had no documents, including Aadhaar.

Senior journalist T.M. Veera Raghav, who accompanied a family member to a hearing venue in Kengeri, described the process as cumbersome and said that if done this way, it would result in many people missing out on the hearings. While BLOs were helpful, he said, many people did not even know why they had been served notices, as the notices were only in Kannada.

Karnataka CEO V. Anbu Kumar had said that notices would be served in Kannada and one more language as per regional need — English and Kannada for Bengaluru and Marathi and Kannada for Belagavi, for instance. However, voters have so far received notices only in Kannada.

Published - September 05, 2026 10:47 pm IST

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