Missing 2002 Electoral Roll Booths Cause Confusion for Whitefield Voters

During the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, hundreds of voters in Whitefield and other areas of the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency are facing severe difficulties due to entire polling booths missing from the digitized 2002 electoral rolls. The missing booths have triggered widespread confusion as residents struggle to establish mandatory linkages with their relatives.

The issue has impacted several neighborhoods within the constituency, including Hagadur, Immadihalli, Nagondanahalli, Gandhipura, Vijayanagar, Vinayakanagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Prashanth Layout, Pattandur Agrahara, and Nallurahalli. Voters in these areas report that the polling stations where they have voted for years are completely absent from the 2002 database on the SIR portal and the Booth Level Officer (BLO) application.

Rajappa, a farmer from Hagadur near Whitefield, shared his family's frustration. He stated that his family has lived in the area for over five generations and has always voted at the Government Higher Primary School in Immadihalli. However, they are currently unable to locate that polling station in the digitized 2002 list.

According to voter activist Mani Nisarga, at least 50 polling booths in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency are missing from the digitized 2002 rolls. Activists even checked neighboring constituencies like Anekal and Hoskote but could not locate these booths, despite many voters recalling voting there before 2002.

Election officials explained that the discrepancy is partly due to historical administrative changes. Following the 2008 delimitation, the erstwhile Varthur Assembly constituency was abolished, and its areas were redistributed among Mahadevapura, CV Raman Nagar, and Anekal constituencies. Subsequent rationalization also led to the merger, addition, and deletion of polling booths, making legacy tracking complex.

Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar stated that complaints regarding missing booths and technical anomalies would be examined. He noted that there were around 34,000 polling stations in 2002 compared to nearly 59,000 today. If booths are confirmed missing in digitized records, District Election Officers will verify the rolls.

Anbukkumar advised voters who cannot locate their names in the 2002 list to submit a signed enumeration form with their current details. They can also submit additional approved documents upon receiving a notice, or submit Form-6 after the draft rolls are published on August 17.

Separately, a representation by Syed Bilal Irfan to election officials alleged a backend database indexing problem. The complaint noted that voters whose names exist in physical 2002 rolls are receiving "No Records Found" messages on digital platforms, particularly affecting parts 166 to 180 in Varthur, which cover 8,878 electors.