Bengaluru: With the claims and objections period for special intensive revision (SIR) ending Wednesday, more than 6 lakh voters have applied through Form 6 for inclusion in the final electoral rolls, officials from the office of Chief Electoral Officer Anbukumar said.Claims and objections received from Aug 24 till now will be considered for inclusion in the final electoral rolls to be published on Oct 27, subject to verification by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). The SIR exercise has reduced Karnataka’s electorate from 5.5 crore to 4.4 crore, a drop of 1.08 crore at the draft stage.Officials said addition to electoral rolls is a continuous process, with fresh names added every quarter based on the revised qualifying date. The Oct 27 roll has triggered questions whether it would become the baseline for the next SIR. An official said it was “too early” to speak on the subject.Applicants seeking inclusion through the online Form 6 process reported problems such as slow servers and data mismatches that prevented submission. Shyam Padhi, a Whitefield resident who assists applicants, said several users had faced similar difficulties.Vinu Jade, a coordinator, said Form 6 rejections were determined by an automated system. “Officials are limited by the data they have been permitted to view. It’s not BLO or ARO who will find fault in an application. It is an automated system that will identify issues based on the form, documents uploaded,” said Jade.He said applicants whose forms were rejected would receive an SMS, while a designated BLO would contact others. “If applied online, you have access to your login and will be notified in case someone is contacting them,” said Jade.However, applicants have reported inconsistencies in how they are contacted and informed about the status of their applications.
