Pre-SIR: Nearly 57k duplicate voters found in Davanagere

Davanagere: Preliminary activities for the comprehensive revision of the voter list, the pre-special intensive revision (Pre-SIR), are under way in Davanagere district, where notices have been issued to 56,941 duplicate voters across various constituencies. The Election Commission of India (ECI) records were reviewed, and discrepancies were corrected as part of the exercise.The ECI shared the names of duplicate voters in several constituencies. Based on the name, photo, and age in the voter list, officials identified such voters, who were given the option to retain their name in one constituency.Deputy commissioner GM Gangadharaswamy said each assembly constituency had, on average, 8,000 duplicate voters, and one person's name was found in the lists of two or three constituencies. He warned that voting in multiple constituencies was a crime and could invite legal action. "The comprehensive revision of the voter list (SIR) has not yet started, and only preliminary activities began," he clarified."Only preliminary activities began. No one will be excluded from the voter list except for the names of deceased individuals. Some are spreading misconceptions about this, and the public is urged not to pay attention to them," he appealed.He said polling officers were verifying consistency between names in the 2002 and 2025 voter lists. "Those under 40 years of age should provide their parents' voter slips for family mapping," the IAS officer added.The DC reiterated that no voter's name would be dropped suddenly. He urged the public not to believe propaganda about deletions. If any confusion arises, people will get an opportunity to retain their names by providing the required documents."Since it is not possible to provide more information after the election process is announced, the district administration appeals to voters to be vigilant and ensure their names tally with the voters' list. People do not need to panic and should cooperate with officials," Gangadharaswamy said.