Karnataka police file three FIRs over bulk voter-roll deletion requests

Karnataka police have registered three first information reports over bulk submissions of Form-7 applications seeking the deletion of names from draft voter rolls, Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar said.

Two cases were filed in Belagavi and one in Bhalki, with sources cited by The Hindu saying more could follow. Shivakumar demanded a thorough inquiry by the Election Commission of India and said he would lead a delegation to the office of Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer. He alleged that the applications represented a conspiracy to deprive people of their voting rights and disproportionately targeted minority communities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and residents of slum areas.

The chief minister said some forms were pre-printed with the details of voters whose names were being challenged, leaving only the objectors’ names to be handwritten. He questioned who had printed the forms and where they had been produced. He also called for an audit and investigation of the agency handling voter data after alleging that it was linked to the BJP.

Shivakumar cited a case in Belagavi in which 198 Form-7 applications were submitted in the name of BJP worker Shashikanth Jadhav. According to the chief minister, Jadhav denied filing them and said the signatures were not his. Minister M.

B. Patil said seven BJP workers in Vijayapura city had filed applications seeking the deletion of more than 13,000 voters, mostly Muslims, over two days. He said the number exceeded the constituency’s reported victory margin in 2023 and could therefore affect an election result.

Shivakumar also said some BJP workers withdrew applications after being warned about possible penalties for false information. BJP state president B. Y.

Vijayendra rejected the criticism. He said the party had the right to identify voters it suspected had been added illegally and that the Election Commission would verify the applications. He alleged that Muslim voters had been gathered at various locations while officials added names to the rolls, and said there were suspicions that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants had been included.

The competing claims concern the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of the voter rolls. The Election Commission’s response to the allegations was not included in the supplied material.