Padma Shri Awardee Harekala Hajabba Gets EC Notice Over Voter List Name Mismatch

Padma Shri awardee Harekala Hajabba, known for building a school from his earnings as an orange seller, has been served a notice by the Election Commission over a discrepancy in his name in the electoral rolls.

The notice was issued on Monday as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls underway in Karnataka. The discrepancy stems from the fact that his name was recorded as only 'Hajabba' in the 2002 voter list, while subsequent official records — including his Aadhaar card, ration card, passport, and newer voter ID — list him as 'Harekala Hajabba'.

The notice was delivered to his residence through Anganwadi workers. He has been directed to appear before the gram panchayat on September 11 with all original documents to present his case. A village accountant will be present during the hearing for verification of the submitted papers.

Hajabba, who received the Padma Shri in 2020 for his contributions to education, expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved once the documents are examined.

The notice is part of a larger exercise in Karnataka, where over 43.81 lakh notices have been generated under the SIR's 'disposal of claims and objections phase'. Of these, 7.31 lakh have been delivered so far. The notices target electors falling under 'no mapping' and 'anomalies' categories. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 27.