Actor Prakash Raj says name removed from Bengaluru voter list

Actor Prakash Raj said his name was deleted from the Bengaluru electoral roll during Karnataka's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists [1, 2].

The incident highlights growing concerns over the accuracy of voter registration in India's tech hub. If high-profile citizens are being removed without notice, it suggests potential systemic issues that could disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters during upcoming elections.

Raj said that he was born in the city and had previously served as a candidate ^[2]. He linked his removal to the ongoing SIR exercise, which is designed to update and clean voter lists but has instead sparked a broader debate over alleged mass deletions [1, 2].

The actor's experience is not an isolated case of registration confusion. Reports indicate that nearly half of Bengaluru's electors are currently classified under the ASDDO (Abse) category due to the SIR process ^[1]. This classification often indicates a voter is absent, shifted, or deceased, effectively pausing their ability to cast a ballot until the status is corrected.

Critics of the revision process said the scale of these classifications suggests a failure in the verification method. The SIR was intended to ensure a lean and accurate roll, yet the volume of affected voters has led to accusations of administrative negligence.

Raj said the situation is alarming because it undermines the fundamental right to vote. He has called for transparency regarding how names are selected for deletion, and what safeguards are in place to notify citizens before they are removed from the lists [1, 2].