Efforts to delete voters from the electoral rolls through bulk applications of Electoral List Form 7, during the current Special Intensive Revision (SIR), are to be investigated as a criminal offence, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has said.
Shivakumar pointed out that BJP workers were returning applications for deletion of voters and it seemed the minorities, Dalits and scheduled tribe voters were being targeted. No independent proof of these allegations have been established.
Shivakumar said that the applications are being filed for removal of approximately 45 lakh voters in Karnataka. He said that this many applications are received to such an extent that in Vijayapura alone. He claimed to see many of these applications coming in during the days of 22nd September to 24th September from some representative/body.
The Chief Minister also quoted cases in Belagavi, Bhalki and Mysuru, where complaints/cases have been reported in regard to the purported attempt to eject names off electoral rolls. He claimed the BJP and its partner JD (S) was trying to remove between 50 lakh and 60 lakh voters.
Questions also have been tossed around regarding the source of voter information for certain applications of Form 7 submitted by Shivakumar. In a few instances, his words, “It seemed there were cases where the voters’ names, Electors Photo Identity Card numbers and information about the objectors seemed to have been pre-printed on the forms and then filled in later”, appeared to be pre-printed, he said, adding that in several, the demographic details of the voters and the objectors “seemed to have been filled in later.”
The controversy is coming against the backdrop of a controversy around the bulk deletion applications filed in Karnataka’s SIR process. Complaints with respect to large number of Form 7 applications have been reported from Bhalki, Vijayapura and Belagavi including complaints on behalf of minority voters.
Shivakumar has asked the authorities to look into the matter and make sure that no deserving individual is disenfranchised from the electoral register on whosoever grounds as a result of an application having been improper or fabricated.
The Election Commission and other electoral bodies are examining complaints stemming from the process of revising the voter-rolls. The charges about voter deletion and other potential voter purging are underway.