Agitations Held at Nearly 75 Centres; More Demonstrations and Four Awareness Padyatras Planned Across State
By Mohammed Talha Siddi Bapa
Bengaluru: A growing wave of resistance against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise swept across Karnataka on Saturday, as protests, rally marches and memorandum submissions were reported from nearly 75 locations, including major cities, district headquarters and several taluk centres. Protesters expressed concern that the ongoing exercise could result in the exclusion of genuine voters from electoral rolls and disproportionately affect vulnerable sections of society.
The demonstrations are part of an ongoing statewide campaign against SIR, with organisers indicating that several more protests are planned in coming weeks. Civil society platforms and democratic organisations have also announced four major padyatras (awareness marches) across different regions of Karnataka to educate citizens about the implications of SIR, particularly the difficulties people may face if their names are deleted from voter rolls.
Organisers said the padyatras aim not only to explain the possible social and civic consequences of voter deletions, but also to encourage wider public participation in what is increasingly emerging as a broad-based movement demanding the suspension of the exercise.
From Bengaluru to Ballari, Koppal to Bidar, Chikkaballapur to Vijayanagar, and across districts including Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Belagavi, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi and Dharwad, farmer organisations, minority groups, student movements, democratic platforms and civil society networks joined hands to voice opposition.
According to organisers, the protests reflected concerns cutting across regional, social and political lines. Protest marches, sit-ins, public meetings and memorandum submissions to Deputy Commissioners and election authorities were held in district after district, signalling what participants described as an expanding democratic resistance to the exercise.
The largest mobilisation was witnessed at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, where representatives of social organisations, democratic forums, farmers’ bodies, student groups and civil society platforms assembled to protest what many described as an opaque and potentially exclusionary exercise.
Addressing the gathering, Tara Rao, Convener of Yedeyelu Karnataka, Bengaluru, sharply criticised the implementation of SIR, saying: “SIR has effectively turned every citizen into a suspect. Voter lists have been continuously prepared and updated for years, yet this exercise has suddenly placed every citizen’s identity and voting rights under question.” She cautioned that such measures risk creating anxiety and uncertainty among ordinary citizens while weakening public trust in democratic institutions.
In Koppal, a large protest rally was taken out despite the intense heat, beginning at 11:00 AM from Ghadiyar Circle and proceeding to Ashok Circle, with participation from a wide spectrum of organisations and community representatives. Protesters later marched to submit a memorandum to the District Election Commission Officer, demanding the immediate withdrawal of SIR and cautioning against any exercise that could disenfranchise legitimate voters.
Addressing protesters in Hospet, Vijayanagar district, farmers’ leader Veer Sangayya issued a stern warning against the deletion of voter names, stating: “Not even a single citizen’s name should be removed from the electoral rolls in Karnataka. If an attempt is made to deprive citizens of their voting rights, the whole of Karnataka will rise in resistance.”
In Ballari, Mayor D. Gaddle Appa launched a sharp critique of the exercise, arguing that “SIR has created an atmosphere in which every citizen is viewed with suspicion. Electoral rolls have been systematically updated for years, but suddenly citizens are being asked to prove their identity and legitimacy as voters.” He questioned the rationale of a process that, according to him, places long-established voter records under doubt.
Meanwhile, in Chikkaballapur, social activist Rangachari described SIR as “a silent assault on the fundamental voting rights of Indians.” He alleged that the initiative appeared to be “less a routine revision of electoral rolls and more an attempt to prepare an entirely new list, potentially putting democratic rights at risk.”
In Bidar, a major protest held at Dr. Ambedkar Circle witnessed participation from democratic, secular and progressive organisations. Protest leaders described the exercise as “anti-democratic, unscientific and deeply flawed.” Speaking at the gathering, Mohammed Nizamuddin, a member of the protest advisory platform in Bidar, expressed concern that vulnerable groups such as married women, nomadic communities, Adivasis, Dalits and minorities could face disproportionate hardships under such an exercise. Protesters later marched to the Assistant Commissioner’s office and submitted a memorandum addressed to government and election authorities.
Reports of demonstrations also emerged from Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Vijayapura and several other district headquarters, where protesters voiced concern over what they described as the risk of arbitrary deletions and barriers to electoral participation.
Across districts, demonstrators maintained that their opposition was not to voter list revision itself, but to any mechanism that they believe could result in arbitrary exclusions, documentation barriers and the disenfranchisement of ordinary citizens, particularly migrant workers, the rural poor, minorities, women and other socially vulnerable communities.
With more protests planned and four statewide padyatras expected to begin shortly, opposition to SIR appears to be evolving into a sustained civic campaign – one aimed not only at resisting voter deletions, but also at educating citizens about how the loss of electoral identity could directly affect democratic participation and everyday life.
