Shivakumar alleges conspiracy to delete eligible voters from Karnataka rolls
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has alleged a “criminal conspiracy” to delete eligible voters from electoral rolls, following a report that eight members of a Muslim family in Bengaluru were targeted in applications seeking deletion of their names.
The family of 32 from Ulsoor accused a local BJP leader of filing the applications.
Shivakumar alleged that BJP workers were misusing Form 7, which allows objections to a voter’s inclusion or requests for deletion from electoral rolls.
Shivakumar said his political, personal and official teams had investigated the misuse before approaching the Election Commission. He alleged that minorities, backward castes and other oppressed sections were being targeted.
He also claimed that lakhs of forms had been printed and distributed to political workers for collecting signatures. According to him, some people signed between 100 and 300 forms without knowing the voters named in them or understanding their purpose. He alleged that some forms concerned voters outside the signatories’ Assembly constituencies.
Several FIRs have been registered, Shivakumar said, calling for election officials to scrutinise the applications and take action against anyone found to have misused the process.
His comments came as he led protests against irregularities in Karnataka’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Election Commission’s draft rolls show 1.07 crore names removed, reducing the state’s registered electorate to 4.46 crore.
On Thursday, Shivakumar led ministers and Congress MLAs in a sit-in at Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar’s office, after putting a Cabinet meeting on hold. The protesters sought an inquiry and FIR over bulk Form 7 filings.
In a memorandum, Shivakumar cited 6,259 deletion applications in Mudigere, around 3,000 in Belagavi North and 2,285 in Bhalki. He alleged that some forms had voters’ names and identification details pre-printed, with objectors’ details added later.
He called for constituency-wise and booth-wise investigations into the applications and the source of voter details.