ECI withdraws name discrepancy notice against Padma awardee

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has withdrawn a discrepancy notice issued to Padma Shri awardee Harekala Hajabba. The notice was part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Karnataka.

Hajabba was asked to appear at a gram panchayat on September 11 with original documents for verification. The discrepancy centered on his name. In the 2002 electoral roll, he was listed only as Hajabba, while his subsequent official records, including his Aadhaar card, ration card, passport, and voter ID, carry the full name Harekala Hajabba. The same full name appears on his Padma Shri award documents.

Notice Withdrawn After Publicity

According to Hajabba, officials visited his residence after the notice became public and took it back. They told him they would examine the matter further. "I do not know what they will do next," Hajabba told reporters. He expressed confidence the issue would be resolved, noting his documents since 2004 have consistently used the name Harekal Hajabba. Hajabba is a fruit seller turned education campaigner from Mangaluru who gained national recognition for using his savings to build a primary school.

Scale of the Revision Exercise

The notice to Hajabba was one of millions issued in Karnataka. The state's SIR began on June 30, and over 4.381 million notices are expected to be sent to voters categorized under "no mapping" and "anomalies." The process for disposing of claims and objections continues until October 22, with the final electoral roll scheduled for publication on October 27.

This is part of a nationwide, phased voter list cleansing drive. The ECI announced Phase 3 of the SIR in May, covering multiple states and union territories.

Once this third phase concludes, the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will be covered. Around 400,000 Booth Level Officers were assigned for house-to-house verification of 367.3 million electors ahead of draft roll publication.

Political Controversy and Precedents

The SIR has sparked criticism from opposition parties. They allege the exercise is a strategic voter roll clean-up designed to benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The revision in West Bengal proved particularly contentious. On April 10, the ECI announced the deletion of nearly nine million names from that state's electoral roll. Approximately 2.7 million of those deletions were categorized under "logical discrepancy." The difference in absolute votes between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress in the last election was similar to the total number of SIR deletions. The first two phases of the SIR, which started in Bihar in June last year, covered 13 states and Union Territories and nearly 590 million electors. The drive aims to remove bogus, duplicate, and ineligible voters, including deceased individuals and what it terms "illegal immigrants."