As of 4 p.m. on July 29, Basavanagudi and Bommanahalli had the highest proportions, with over 47% of voters falling under the category.
| Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.
Areas reporting unusually high or low numbers of voters under the “Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, Dead and Others” (ASDDO) category will be reviewed, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V. Anbu Kumar said on Wednesday (July 29), while maintaining that mahazars had been conducted in all cases. He said this following concerns over a large number of voters being classified under ASDDO in several Assembly constituencies. In Bengaluru, at least nine Assembly constituencies have more than 40% of their electorate categorised under ASDDO, while none has a figure below 30%. As of 4 p.m. on July 29, Basavanagudi and Bommanahalli had the highest proportions, with over 47% of voters falling under the category. BBMP South recorded the highest concentration, with five of its seven Assembly constituencies reporting ASDDO figures exceeding 40%. Despite concerns raised by resident welfare associations, activists and political parties, Mr. Kumar said no such complaints had been received by his office. He maintained that every voter classified under ASDDO was supported by documentary or field evidence, including death certificates where applicable. He added that any voter who has been wrongly marked as absent or shifted can submit the prescribed form to have the details corrected before the final electoral roll is published. Under the Election Commission’s guidelines, a Booth Level Officer (BLO) is required to make at least three physical visits before categorising a voter as absent or shifted. A voter is marked as “shifted” only after neighbours or the current occupants confirm that the registered elector has relocated and absent if the voter was not present during the enumeration phase.However, several BLOs told The Hindu that these procedures were not uniformly followed. In many cases, verification stickers, which are required to be pasted on the premises, were not used. Voters who had been categorised as absent or shifted were also not informed. Some BLOs admitted that genuine electors, including members of the same family, had been wrongly classified as shifted or absent. While the CEO said no complaints had been received from political parties, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee on July 29 submitted a representation expressing concern that more than 80 lakh electors had been placed under the ASDDO category. The Congress, in its letter to the CEO, requested to conduct a second round of physical verification in all cases likely to result in deletion, ensure that no elector is removed on the basis of a single visit or incomplete verification. The party also requested to provide adequate notice before deletion, establish additional facilitation centres for corrections, and publish category-wise and constituency-wise deletion statistics. Published - July 29, 2026 10:47 pm IST
