ECI Special Voter Revision Camps Remain Locked Across Hebbal and Other Areas

Special voter revision camps organised by the Election Commission of India (ECI) remained largely inaccessible on Sunday across several constituencies, including Hebbal Kempapura, Malleswaram, and Shivajinagar, as designated polling stations stayed locked on the second day of the campaign.

The drive was scheduled for August 29 and August 30 under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to assist citizens with Form-6 submissions, address corrections via Form-8, and other voter roll queries. However, designated centres such as Jain Heritage School in Kempapura, Government Primary Model School in Malleswaram, and Government Model Urdu School in Shivajinagar were found shut.

At schools that were open, such as the Government Tamil Model Primary School in J.C. Nagar and a government school housing polling stations 181 to 185 in Shivajinagar, the draft electoral roll was missing. The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) had previously assured that draft rolls would be pasted at polling stations and gram panchayat offices, but neither the lists nor Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were present at these locations.

The special camps were intended to resolve widespread issues with the draft list published online on August 24, where many voters reported missing names, missing initials, and incomplete address details. ECI guidelines mandated that BLOs be present at polling stations to help voters verify their names, accept claims and objections, digitise the submissions, and file daily reports.

BLOs indicated that the campaign was announced on August 28, just one day prior to its rollout, leaving no time to conduct public awareness drives. Some BLOs noted they were instructed to visit centres briefly, take photographs as proof of presence, and manage voter queries over the telephone.

Booth Level Agents (BLAs) from both the BJP and Congress, along with local residents, reported that they were unaware of the scheduled camps. In response to the reports of closed venues, the CEO shared photographs of functioning camps conducted in other areas, including Yelahanka, Singapura, and J.P. Nagar.