Karnataka SIR flags discrepancies in electoral records of Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani

Millat Times Desk

10 September 2026 (Publish: 06:45 AM IST)

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The names of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and Zerodha co-founders Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath have been flagged by election officials in Karnataka during a special revision of the state’s electoral rolls, according to media reports.

Nilekani’s wife and two children were also listed as having been “unmapped with last SIR”, a category referring to voters whose names were not found in the electoral rolls used in the previous 2002 revision, The Indian Express reported.

The names of Nithin Kamath, Nikhil Kamath and their mother, Revathi Kamath, were flagged over a mismatch in their parents’ names in the Bangalore South assembly constituency, The Hindu reported.

The Election Commission’s special intensive revision (SIR) has led to the removal of more than 10 million names from Karnataka’s draft electoral rolls published on Aug. 24. The deleted names represented about 19.4% of the state’s electorate.

Election officials have said notices would be issued to about 4.3 million people whose enumeration forms contained discrepancies or whose records could not be matched with earlier rolls.

Voters can file claims and objections against deletions from Aug. 24 to Sept. 23. Appeals are due to be heard by Oct. 22, with the final electoral roll scheduled for publication on Oct. 27.

The chief electoral officer’s office has said officials will visit the homes of prominent citizens and very important persons to allow them to participate without travelling to hearing centres. Similar arrangements will be available for elderly voters and people with disabilities, The Hindu reported.

Karnataka is one of 19 states and federal territories included in the third phase of the nationwide SIR exercise.

The process began in Bihar in 2025 before being expanded to 12 other states and federal territories in a second phase in late 2025 and early 2026.

The revision has drawn criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups, who have raised concerns that eligible voters could be removed from electoral rolls and that deletions could affect election results.

The Supreme Court in May upheld the legality of the electoral roll revision but said the exercise could not be used by the Election Commission to determine whether an individual was an Indian citizen.