Tracing voters in an ever-evolving Bengaluru

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From its demography to its geography, Bengaluru looked very different 24 years ago, in 2002, when Karnataka last undertook an ‘intensive revision of special nature’ of its electoral rolls. The changing nature of the city makes the ongoing Special Intensive Revision particularly challengingfor both voters and Booth Level Officers, writes Rishita Khanna

Updated - August 04, 2026 05:02 pm IST

While the Election Commission says SIR is necessary, the very reasons cited by the commission — migration, changing addresses and a constantly evolving electorate — are also the reasons verification has become particularly challenging in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.

After receiving her enumeration form, Lakshmi P. (name changed), a 59-year-old voter from Padmanabhanagar, began searching for her details in the 2002 electoral rolls. She sifted through over 120 voters with the same name. Different spellings, the expansion of her initial and even her parents’ names led nowhere. It was only after she found her husband’s 2002 voter identity card that she realised the family’s electoral record in 2002 was under Uttarahalli Assembly constituency, not Padmanabhanagar.

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Relieved that she had finally traced the record, Lakshmi turned back to the enumeration form, only to find that the pre-filled details carried the same spelling error that appeared in her voter identity card.

Should she point it out before submitting the form or later? Did both sides of the form have to be filled? Were all fields mandatory? If the pre-filled details were incorrect, whom should she approach?

Similar questions have haunted voters in Bengaluru — a city with over 1.03 crore voters, making up approximately one-sixth of Karnataka’s total 5.54-crore electorate.

People visit a Special Intensive Revision assistance centre in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

From its demography to its geography, Bengaluru looked very different 24 years ago, in 2002, when Karnataka last undertook an “intensive revision of special nature” of its electoral rolls.

For instance, Whitefield and Mahadevapura had not yet become the dense urban corridors they are today. Yelahanka, Uttarahalli, and Kengeri lay on the edges of a much smaller city. Over two decades since, Bengaluru has expanded in every direction. Assembly constituencies were redrawn and lakhs of people who moved to the city for work, education and marriage eventually transferred their vote here.

Moreover, Bengaluru’s growth earlier hinged on migration from North Karnataka and neighbouring States such as Tamil Nadu, and later from across the country as the city’s technology and services sectors expanded. The city’s electoral rolls, therefore, are itself a record of migration.

With the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) under way, Lakshmi’s experience mirrors the questions many voters and even Booth Level Officers (BLOs) say they are facing while filling the enumeration forms.

Booth Level Officers handing over enumeration forms to residents of Vasanthnagar in Bengaluru on July 13. | Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.

While the Election Commission says SIR is necessary because “two decades of urbanisation and migration have significantly altered the electoral rolls”, the very reasons cited by the commission — migration, changing addresses and a constantly evolving electorate — are also the reasons verification has become particularly challenging in Bengaluru, where SIR progress has lagged behind most districts despite 8,972 BLOs being drafted from almost every department.

The city is home to lakhs of people living in apartment complexes as well as hundreds of notified and non-notified slum settlements. While many apartment residents spoke about struggling to understand Kannada-only forms, residents in several slum settlements said their immediate concern was ensuring that their names remained on the electoral rolls, which many said meant “welfare benefits” and proof of residence.

Pointing to the lack of awareness, a BLO assigned for New Timberyard Layout, off Mysore Road, said, “Only a limited number of enumeration forms had reached the area till last week. Those who did not receive one went back to their homes and returned with documents. They could not understand why only some households had received the forms.”