Bengaluru: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, scheduled to begin in the state from June 30, has set the stage for a political showdown between governing Congress and opposition BJP, with both parties launching parallel preparations ahead of the exercise.Wary that the revision could disproportionately impact minorities, SCs and STs, Congress has begun training booth-level agents and mobilising brass to monitor the process closely.Chief minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy and KPCC president DK Shivakumar, and AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala will brief legislators, defeated candidates and party workers on handling the SIR process.VR Sudarshan, state Congress SIR committee convener, said the party is preparing for what it believes could become a politically sensitive exercise.“Considering how SIR was conducted in Bihar and West Bengal, we must be cautious. It is being used as a political tool by the Centre,” Sudarshan said. “Our three top functionaries will thoroughly brief cadres and functionaries on the process. Dates will be finalised soon.” He said he would also meet chief electoral officer V Anbu Kumar on Tuesday to seek clarity on the exercise.Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said Congress’ immediate focus is to ensure genuine voters are not deleted from the rolls. “It is not just Muslims but also SC and ST voters who are under threat,” he said.Arshad said the party is already training booth level agents (BLAs) and is guiding them on coordinating with booth-level officers during the revision process. “We will ensure legal assistance for those who may require it after the draft roll is published,” he said.BLAs are political party representatives tasked with engaging voters and verifying electoral rolls at polling booth level. Karnataka currently has 25,284 BLAs and the Election Commission (EC) has permitted parties to appoint additional BLA-2s to cross check voter lists prepared by booth-level officers.Saleem Ahmed, Congress chief whip in the legislative council, said the party is ready to challenge any irregularities politically and legally. “Congress is ready for battle, be it on the streets or in courts, to ensure no eligible voter is left out,” he said.BJP, meanwhile, backed the revision and said it would assist the EC identify “dead, ineligible and infiltrator” voters. “Unlike Congress, which is considering it as a threat to their vote bank, BJP is ready to help the EC,” said P Rajeev, BJP state general secretary and SIR convener. “We have appointed one BLA-1 for each of the 224 assembly constituencies and more than 40,000 BLA-2 workers across the state’s 59,040 polling booths.”
