Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Burea
Karnataka minister Eshwar Khandre has said the State Election Commission (SEC) would decide which electoral roll to use for local elections after seeking the state government’s opinion. He said there is still confusion over whether the post-Special Intensive Review (SIR) roll will be considered.
Though the State Election Commission will decide on it, it will seek our opinion. We will give our inputs then,” Khandre told reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. Khandre said the Cabinet discussed the electoral roll for the local body elections.
The ruling Congress opposed the SIR and questioned the deletion of nearly 10 million names in Karnataka’s electoral roll.
A second minister said a Congress-ruled state opting for the post-SIR roll in local body elections could be embarrassing. He said the Congress leadership may also not like the idea.
The final SIR roll was published on October 27, reducing Karnataka’s electorate from about 55.4 million to 45.5 million, with nearly 9.97 million names removed.
The second minister said the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) could question the credibility of elections if the government recommends using the older roll.
Ten million names have been deleted. If the same roll is used for the election, it could be embarrassing. The Opposition moving the court cannot be ruled out either.”
The SEC is responsible for conducting local body elections and will take the final call on the electoral roll.
The rural development and panchayat Raj department has notified the reservation for zilla and taluk panchayat constituencies. The SEC is expected to notify the elections in January. The elections have been pending since 2016.
On Thursday, chief minister DK Shivakumar reiterated the party’s position against the SIR at a protest against the exercise in Bengaluru. “We do not agree with the way SIR is ongoing. All the voters whose names have been deleted, except for the deceased, should get justice. Until justice is served, we will continue to fight,” he said.
