Satish Jarkiholi Defends Karnataka SIR, Says Nearly One Crore Voter Deletions Were Justified

Karnataka Public Works Minister and Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi has defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka, saying the exercise was conducted properly, while reiterating his party’s objections to its implementation in other states.

“We didn't protest about SIR in Karnataka. We raised issues about the SIR process in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, etc. Because of all the training we gave, SIR has been done properly in Karnataka. We want it to be done the same way in other states too,” Jarkiholi told reporters.

Responding to questions about nearly one crore voter names being deleted, he said the removed entries largely concerned people who had died, shifted or had duplicate registrations, adding that similar revisions should have been undertaken elsewhere.

According to reports, Karnataka’s final electoral roll published after the revision listed 4.55 crore electors, compared with 5.54 crore before the exercise, marking a reduction of approximately 99.32 lakh names.

However, Jarkiholi’s defence comes amid concerns raised by other Congress leaders. Minister Priyank Kharge alleged irregularities involving bulk Form 7 applications and people reportedly declared dead despite being alive. Congress leaders have also questioned the deletion of voters classified as absent.

The BJP welcomed Jarkiholi’s remarks, citing them as support for its position on electoral roll revision.

The controversy comes ahead of the Congress-led protest rally scheduled in Delhi on November 1 over alleged irregularities in voter list revision.