Karnataka has received 110,654 Form 7 applications raising objections to proposed inclusions or deletions in electoral rolls as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) progresses. The Election Commission has set October 22 as the deadline for disposing of claims and objections, with the final electoral roll scheduled for publication on October 27.
The figures, released by the office of Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar, come amid a political dispute over allegations of bulk Form 7 submissions being used to target voters and the registration of police cases against BJP workers who filed the applications.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra defended the revision exercise as a means of removing irregularities from electoral rolls, while accusing the Congress government of using the controversy to intimidate party workers.
As of October 9, Karnataka had 45,161,393 registered electors, comprising 22,403,422 men, 22,755,113 women and 2,858 transgender voters.
Over 4.3 million Notices Delivered
Election officials generated 4,382,315 notices during the revision process and delivered 4,373,745, representing 99.80% of the total. Hearings had been completed for 4,088,099 delivered notices, or 93.47%, while 285,646 cases remained pending. The final hearing is scheduled for October 12.
Between June 16 and October 8, the state received 2,302,215 applications across four categories: 952,497 Form 6 applications for voter enrolment, 4,712 Form 6A applications from Indian citizens living abroad, 110,654 Form 7 applications challenging proposed inclusions or seeking deletion of existing entries, and 1,234,352 Form 8 applications for corrections, address changes and replacement voter identity cards.
The Chief Electoral Officer’s office said constituency-wise details of claims and objections submitted through Forms 9, 10, 11, 11A and 11B were available on the Election Commission of India’s website.
Action Proposed Against False Declarations
In a letter dated October 1, Anbukkumar alerted Electoral Registration Officers to complaints concerning bulk Form 7 submissions and questions about their authenticity.
The communication directed District Election Officers, Additional District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers to initiate proceedings under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, against applicants found to have knowingly made false written statements or declarations in Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8. Such action must be preceded by an inquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the letter stated.
BJP Accuses Congress of Intimidating Workers
Vijayendra said the BJP supported the SIR process to identify and remove irregularities, arguing that the party was not responsible for defending the Election Commission against allegations concerning the conduct of the exercise.
He questioned why BJP workers should face police action for submitting objections to electoral entries and maintained that applications from all political parties should be assessed on their merits.
“If a Form-7 application is submitted by the BJP or by any other political party, the Returning Officer will accept it if it is valid and reject if it is incorrect,” Vijayendra said at a press conference.
He accused Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of using the controversy to target the BJP and alleged that the Congress was portraying the applications as an attempt to remove votes belonging to AHINDA communities, a term referring to minorities, backward classes and Dalits.
Vijayendra denied that the BJP had targeted any particular community, saying its objections concerned deceased voters and duplicate entries. He also alleged that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were being included in electoral rolls in Bengaluru and other constituencies.
The BJP leader further referred to interim relief reportedly granted by the Karnataka High Court’s Dharwad Bench in a case linked to the dispute, accusing the Congress government of using police cases to intimidate party workers.
