Karnataka deputy chief minister alleges organised misuse of voter-deletion forms

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has alleged an organised attempt to remove eligible voters from electoral rolls through misuse of Form 7, describing the activity as a criminal conspiracy. Shivakumar made the allegation after an India Today report about a Muslim family in Bengaluru whose members said applications had been filed seeking deletion of eight names. The family, from Ulsoor, accused a local BJP leader of targeting them because of their religion.

Form 7 is used to object to a voter’s inclusion or request deletion from an electoral roll. Shivakumar alleged that BJP workers were misusing the process and that minorities, backward castes and oppressed groups were being targeted because they traditionally support the Congress. He claimed that large numbers of forms had been printed and distributed to political workers.

According to his account, some people signed between 100 and 300 forms without knowing the named voters or understanding the forms’ purpose. He also alleged that some listed voters lived outside the signatories’ Assembly constituencies. Shivakumar said several first information reports had been registered and called on election officials to examine applications and act against anyone who knowingly misused the process.

He said voter lists should be compared line by line with earlier rolls. He also referred to allegations that living voters in Vijayapura and Belagavi had been recorded as dead. He said protecting voting rights was the priority and that the government was helping voters obtain documents needed for registration.

The allegations came as Shivakumar led protests over claimed irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. He led ministers and Congress legislators in a five-hour sit-in at the Chief Electoral Officer’s office after postponing a Cabinet meeting. The protest ended after the chief electoral officer ordered action against applicants found to have knowingly submitted false information.

Shivakumar said he had flagged thousands of applications and sought constituency- and booth-level investigations.