Prominent names appear on Karnataka electoral roll discrepancy list

New Delhi: The names of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, his wife and author-philanthropist Rohini Nilekani, their son Nihar Nilekani and daughter Janhavi Nandan Nilekani have appeared on a discrepancy list released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka.

The list also includes the names of Bharat Ratna-winning scientist C.N.R. Rao, Kannada actor Shivaraj Kumar, Zerodha founders Nikhil Kamath and Nithin Kamath, and Padma Shri recipient and social activist Harekala Hajabba, The Wire reported.

According to the list, the Nilekani family members were marked as having entries that could not be mapped to the previous 2002 SIR exercise. Shivaraj Kumar was also listed under the same category.

For Nikhil and Nithin Kamath, the discrepancy was attributed to a mismatch in the names of their parents. The entries were brought to public attention by an X user, @avinashmohan.

Nandan Nilekani previously served as the founding chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which oversaw the implementation of Aadhaar, from 2009 to 2014.

In July 2026, following the resignation of former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan amid youth protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Nilekani would lead a high-powered task force tasked with reforming examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

On September 9, the official X account of Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer shared a clarification issued by the Additional District Election Officer of the BBMP North district concerning scientist C.N.R. Rao's name.

The clarification stated that Rao's entry had initially been flagged because of a mismatch involving his own name. However, officials said that no physical notice was served on him and that his name was subsequently included directly in the final electoral roll on September 8, taking into consideration his stature and contributions.

Officials explained that Rao is a voter in Part No. 59 of the Malleswaram Assembly Constituency, numbered 157. His name in the current draft electoral roll appears as “Proff C.N.R. Rao S/O Nagesh Rav. H”, while the 2002 voter list reportedly recorded the name as “Rama S/O H. Nagesh.”

The authorities said an enumeration form was personally handed over to Rao at his residence during the SIR process. Officials involved included the State SVEEP Nodal Officer, the Commissioner of Bengaluru West City Corporation, the Electoral Registration Officer for Malleswaram and the Booth Level Officer for Part No. 59.

According to the election authorities, they decided not to issue a formal notice to Rao or his family because of their awareness of his stature and contributions. The Booth Level Officer instead recommended the record for final approval by the Additional Electoral Registration Officer.

The Additional Electoral Registration Officer approved the entry for inclusion in the final electoral roll on September 8, 2026.

The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer's office also rejected a report published in The Hindu that had stated that Rao was served a notice over the name discrepancy. Officials maintained that no such notice had been issued.

To support its clarification, the election office said it had provided statements from the Electoral Registration Officer of Malleswaram and a video recording from the Booth Level Officer of Part No. 59.