Bengaluru: Less than a week after the rollout of SIR, hundreds of voters are anxious after they were unable to trace their or their family members’ details in the 2002 electoral rolls — the base document for this exercise.Although the Election Commission of India (ECI) has uploaded the 2002 rolls on its website to facilitate verification, data relating to several part numbers across assembly constituencies is yet to be made available. Adding to the confusion are numerous errors in the digitised records, including incorrect spellings of names, missing surnames and wrong initials, which have hindered online verification.Several members of Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in Bengaluru told TOI the 2002 rolls are incomplete and riddled with errors. They pointed out that voters are identified through part numbers and serial numbers, but records corresponding to several part numbers are missing from the online database.A member of an RWA in Sanjaynagar, which fell under Yelahanka constituency in 2002, said, “Several residents approached us after they could not locate their or their family members’ names in the 2002 rolls. When we checked the records for Yelahanka (A088), we found that part numbers such as 95, 275, 280 and 520 were unavailable. The portal states these are yet to be uploaded.” He said ECI should have ensured that the complete 2002 electoral rolls were available before launching the SIR exercise.M Azam, who lived in RMV Extension in 2002 and now resides in Sahakarnagar, said the missing records have left several genuine voters worried. “Many families were mapped under these missing part numbers. Without those records, voters are unable to establish continuity in their electoral history during the verification process,” he said.Dr Asima Banu, a voter from Basavanagudi, said, “My name in 2002 rolls carries the prefix ‘Dr’, whereas my Aadhaar card does not. Because of this mismatch, the online system failed to recognise my voter ID. I was advised by the booth level officer to complete the verification offline by submitting the prescribed forms.”Another voter, MA Amir from Sanjaynagar, said, “All my official records mention my name as ‘Amir’, but the 2002 electoral roll records it as ‘Ameer’. Because of this error, I couldn’t complete the online process and now have to submit additional documents to rectify a mistake that wasn’t mine.”Yogeshwara S, joint chief electoral officer, Karnataka, said such voters should approach their respective Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). “The rolls uploaded on the website are certified by EROs. If voters find part numbers missing, they should contact ERO for clarification. In cases involving errors or mismatches, they must follow the offline verification process and submit the required supporting documents,” he said.
