Bengaluru: The Election Commission (EC) has clarified that no notice was issued to Bharat Ratna Prof CNR Rao in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Malleswaram assembly constituency.District election officer and GBA chief commissioner Maheshwar Rao said Wednesday that reports claiming Prof Rao had been issued a notice were incorrect. As part of the SIR exercise, enumeration forms were personally delivered to Prof Rao and his family members at their residence by senior election officials, and the required information was filled in.Prof Rao’s office also confirmed he had not received any notice. Officials had found a spelling mismatch in his electoral records and assured him it would be resolved without him having to appear before them or respond to any notice.“Officials found a discrepancy in Prof Rao’s name while comparing electoral records. In the 2002 electoral rolls, his name was recorded as Rama, while he is currently registered as Prof CN Rao M. His name has also been included in the draft electoral rolls,” Maheshwar Rao said.He added that the booth-level officer (BLO), without issuing any notice, recommended Prof Rao’s inclusion in the final electoral roll, and the necessary process was initiated.Lakhs of voters across Karnataka are receiving notices as part of the ongoing SIR. Around 43.8 lakh voters have been flagged because of spelling mismatches, logical discrepancies — including system-flagged errors relating to age gaps between family members — and the absence of mapping with the 2002 electoral data.Officials said the notices are generated automatically based on data available with EC and its software system, which does not distinguish VIPs from other voters. However, once a BLO identifies that a notice has been generated in the name of a VIP, it may not be served. Instead of requiring the person to appear for a hearing with supporting documents, the BLO will visit the concerned person’s residence and complete the verification process there.Notices generated for NilekaniThe Election Commission has also generated notices for entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani and his family members under the ‘no-mapping’ category. Bengaluru South City Corporation officials said the notices were generated as they had not provided details of their names in the 2002 voter list.BSCC commissioner Ramesh KN said officials would check the records for any discrepancies, if available, and resolve them without issuing notices. “I am not aware of the status of the notices generated for Nilekani. I will check the details,” he said.
