Mangaluru: Prakash Raj slams Centre, ECI over alleged voter list irregularities in Karnataka, says 70L living voters face removal
Prakash Raj has accused the central government and the Election Commission of planning to delete the names of about seventy lakh living voters from Karnataka’s electoral roll. He warns that such a large‑scale removal could disenfranchise many citizens ahead of the upcoming state elections.
Veteran actor and political activist Prakash Raj has publicly criticised the Union government and the Election Commission of India for what he describes as large‑scale irregularities in the Karnataka electoral roll. According to Raj, the draft list prepared for the upcoming state elections contains the names of roughly seventy lakh living citizens who are slated for deletion, a figure that he says far exceeds the number of deceased individuals normally removed during the annual cleaning exercise. He argues that such a massive purge could disenfranchise a substantial segment of the electorate, particularly in rural districts where voter registration is already fragile.
Raj’s statements come amid a broader debate over the accuracy of the National Electoral Roll Purification Programme, which aims to remove duplicate and deceased entries but has been accused of over‑reach in several states. Opposition parties in Karnataka have echoed his concerns, warning that the removal of millions of names could tilt the electoral balance in favour of parties with stronger administrative machinery. The Election Commission, for its part, has defended the exercise as a routine update, insisting that each deletion is backed by documentary proof and that affected voters can appeal within a prescribed timeframe.
For Indian readers, the controversy underscores the importance of transparent voter‑list management ahead of the 2026 state assembly polls, which could see a narrow margin of victory in several constituencies. Civil‑society groups have called for an independent audit of the Karnataka roll to verify that only deceased or duplicate entries are removed, urging the Election Commission to provide a clear grievance‑redress mechanism. Observers note that any perception of bias in the electoral roll could fuel public distrust and potentially affect voter turnout, making the resolution of these issues a priority for democratic stability.
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