CPI(M) alleges targeted electoral-roll deletion applications in Bidar village
A CPI(M) delegation says dozens of Form-7 applications seeking voter deletions were filed in Enkoor village in Karnataka’s Bidar district, disproportionately affecting Muslim residents. The party called for scrutiny of the applications, while the supplied material does not include a response from election officials.
A Communist Party of India (Marxist) delegation has alleged that a large number of Form-7 applications seeking deletion of names from electoral rolls targeted Muslim residents in Enkoor village in Karnataka’s Bidar district. The delegation, led by CPI(M) state secretariat member K. Neela, visited Enkoor in Bhalki taluk on Thursday.
It met residents from different communities and spoke with two Booth Level Officers and Booth Level Agents about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. According to the delegation, 68 applications covering two polling booths were uploaded on September 22, while another 198 applications remained with the complainant without being uploaded. Neela said the village had about 725 Muslim electors and alleged that the applications represented an attempt to remove a substantial portion of them.
Form-7 is the Election Commission of India’s prescribed form for objecting to a person’s inclusion on the electoral roll or seeking deletion of an existing entry. The commission’s guidelines require applicants to provide a prescribed reason, with responsibility for supporting that reason resting on the applicant. The delegation said residents reported pressure to complete and submit the forms.
It also said villagers opposed any effort that could remove eligible voters and expressed concern that the process might create divisions in a community where different groups had lived together for generations. Residents reportedly pointed to the annual observance of Muharram in Enkoor, where people from different communities participate in cultural and religious activities. The delegation also gathered information in Nittoor and Khatak Chincholi villages.
Neela said the pattern of applications suggested a systematic attempt to target one community and could disenfranchise eligible voters. The supplied material does not include a response from the Election Commission or election officials confirming or rejecting the allegations.
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