Karnataka CM seeks Form 7 data as BLOs in Belagavi allege pressure to sign bulk deletion forms

Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has asked the Chief Electoral Officer for constituency-wise details of Form 7 objections filed during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in Belagavi allege they were pressured to sign bulk applications seeking deletion of Muslim voters.

In a social media post on Wednesday, September 30, the Congress leader said he wanted the number of bulk objections, along with those filed without the prescribed reason or the required details for seeking a voter’s deletion. He said there are serious concerns that such objections may be used to target the votes of minorities, Dalits, tribals and other backward communities. Objections filed on pre-printed voter details, he wrote, point to “a systematic attempt to subvert the SIR process.” He has also called for FIRs against those involved, with copies sent to the Chief Secretary.

Allegations from Belagavi

The concerns are now emerging from the ground. Pre-filled bulk Form 7 applications were received at at least six polling stations in Belagavi North constituency: four in Veerabhadra Nagar (parts 194, 195, 196 and 199) and two at the Government Kannada Higher Primary School in Shettigali (parts 209 and 210).

BLOs at these stations allege that two men claiming to be from the Belagavi City Corporation brought bulk applications seeking the deletion of only Muslim names. The voters’ details were pre-filled, while the objectors’ names were either handwritten or left blank. 

The men allegedly insisted the forms be signed and returned urgently. When the BLOs refused, saying they knew the voters had lived in the area for years, the men allegedly phoned someone who posed as the Electoral Registration Officer and told them to sign.

Electoral Registration Officer Udayakumar Basavantappa Talawar has confirmed that someone falsely used his name and that he had issued no such instructions. Some BLOs say they signed under pressure. Others say they tried to reach their supervisors but could not.

Meersab Sanadi, the Booth Level Agent at polling station 196, says he found at least 380 such applications at the school. “I was shocked to find my name and my brother’s,” he said, adding that relatives and neighbours were on the list too.

Congress worker Amaan Sait says the men first claimed to be from the corporation and later said they were from a private hospital. Some objectors named on the forms, he said, confirmed their names and phone numbers were theirs but denied filing any applications. The forms could be recovered at one polling station, but not at the others.

Filings continued after the deadline

In Bhalki, deletion requests against Muslim voters continued even after the claims and objections period ended. The statutory Form 10 report shows 1,131 applications were received between September 24 and 29, of which 1,123 were bulk filings. Applications filed after the deadline will be taken up only after the final electoral rolls are published on October 27. The Chief Electoral Officer was not available for comment.

The wider picture

The Form 10 report, which consolidates Form 7 objections, shows more than 4,000 deletions being sought across several Assembly constituencies, largely of Muslim voters. Actor Prakash Raj has alleged that Form 7 is being used in an attempt to remove the names of around 21,000 Muslim voters. Form 7 is used to object to a name on the electoral roll or to seek its deletion.

Photo Credit: DK Shivakumar / Facebook via The News Minute

About The Author

Aliya Akbar

Aliya is a poet, journalist and researcher working at the intersection of language, memory and political witness, with published work in international journals and bylined features in The Hindu. Her research spans postcolonial memory and independent journalism.

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