Gandhi challenges EC over Belagavi voter deletions
Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the Election Commission and the BJP of involvement in an alleged attempt to remove nearly 15,000 voters from electoral rolls in Karnataka’s Belagavi region. The Times of India
Gandhi said a surge of Form 7 applications seeking deletion of names had been submitted over September 22, 23 and 24. He alleged that Muslims, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes were disproportionately targeted because many voters from those communities did not support the BJP. The New Indian Express
The Congress leader claimed the applications reflected a wider method of manipulating electoral rolls through centrally operated software and bulk filings. He accused BJP functionaries and election officials of colluding in the process. The allegations have not been established by an independent investigation, and the Election Commission had not issued a specific public response to Gandhi’s claims by Thursday night.
Gandhi also questioned why Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer had not registered an FIR over the broader allegations, saying Congress leaders had approached the official seeking criminal action. He repeated his demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign and called for an investigation into Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The New Indian Express
The accusations followed a dispute in Belagavi over bulk Form 7 applications, which are used to object to an entry in an electoral roll or seek deletion of a name under prescribed grounds. Filing an application does not by itself remove a voter: electoral registration authorities are required to examine objections and follow the stipulated process before deleting an entry.
Belagavi Market police registered an FIR on September 30 against BJP functionary Ravi Patil and about 20 to 25 others after a booth-level officer complained of an alleged attempt to seek deletion of 198 voters through Form 7 applications containing false information and forged documents. The Times of India
The complaint concerned voters at polling parts 195 and 196 in Veerabhadra Nagar and alleged that Muslim voters whose names were validly on the rolls had been targeted. Police are investigating the allegations. The registration of the case does not establish the guilt of those named. The Times of India
Belagavi Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Roshan had earlier said no voters had been deleted on the basis of objections submitted at the polling station, an important distinction from claims that names had already been erased. The local controversy began after allegations that people linked to political workers sought signatures from a booth-level officer on a large batch of deletion applications. Hindustan Times
A separate political dispute has centred on Belagavi South BJP MLA Abhay Patil. Congress leaders accused him of seeking removal of 2,598 voters, while Patil rejected that characterisation and said he had sought verification of voters identified in a booth-level agent’s report. He maintained that names should be deleted only if verification found the voters ineligible. The Times of India
The Belagavi allegations surfaced during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which has become a major point of confrontation between the opposition and the Election Commission. Opposition parties have questioned the scale and methods of deletions, while the Commission has maintained that electoral-roll revisions are governed by law and prescribed procedures. Reuters
The Election Commission has also ordered a review of voter-roll software and procedural changes following concerns over exclusions during the revision exercise. Its measures include efforts to identify eligible voters left out of rolls and changes intended to make verification easier for people whose entries have been questioned. Reuters
Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Cabinet colleagues staged a protest outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Bengaluru on Thursday, demanding criminal investigation of alleged bulk Form 7 filings. Shivakumar said authorities should determine who prepared and submitted the applications and whether identities or signatures had been misused. The Economic Times
Gandhi said a surge of Form 7 applications seeking deletion of names had been submitted over September 22, 23 and 24. He alleged that Muslims, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes were disproportionately targeted because many voters from those communities did not support the BJP. The New Indian Express
The Congress leader claimed the applications reflected a wider method of manipulating electoral rolls through centrally operated software and bulk filings. He accused BJP functionaries and election officials of colluding in the process. The allegations have not been established by an independent investigation, and the Election Commission had not issued a specific public response to Gandhi’s claims by Thursday night.
Gandhi also questioned why Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer had not registered an FIR over the broader allegations, saying Congress leaders had approached the official seeking criminal action. He repeated his demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign and called for an investigation into Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The New Indian Express
The accusations followed a dispute in Belagavi over bulk Form 7 applications, which are used to object to an entry in an electoral roll or seek deletion of a name under prescribed grounds. Filing an application does not by itself remove a voter: electoral registration authorities are required to examine objections and follow the stipulated process before deleting an entry.
Belagavi Market police registered an FIR on September 30 against BJP functionary Ravi Patil and about 20 to 25 others after a booth-level officer complained of an alleged attempt to seek deletion of 198 voters through Form 7 applications containing false information and forged documents. The Times of India
The complaint concerned voters at polling parts 195 and 196 in Veerabhadra Nagar and alleged that Muslim voters whose names were validly on the rolls had been targeted. Police are investigating the allegations. The registration of the case does not establish the guilt of those named. The Times of India
Belagavi Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Roshan had earlier said no voters had been deleted on the basis of objections submitted at the polling station, an important distinction from claims that names had already been erased. The local controversy began after allegations that people linked to political workers sought signatures from a booth-level officer on a large batch of deletion applications. Hindustan Times
A separate political dispute has centred on Belagavi South BJP MLA Abhay Patil. Congress leaders accused him of seeking removal of 2,598 voters, while Patil rejected that characterisation and said he had sought verification of voters identified in a booth-level agent’s report. He maintained that names should be deleted only if verification found the voters ineligible. The Times of India
The Belagavi allegations surfaced during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which has become a major point of confrontation between the opposition and the Election Commission. Opposition parties have questioned the scale and methods of deletions, while the Commission has maintained that electoral-roll revisions are governed by law and prescribed procedures. Reuters
The Election Commission has also ordered a review of voter-roll software and procedural changes following concerns over exclusions during the revision exercise. Its measures include efforts to identify eligible voters left out of rolls and changes intended to make verification easier for people whose entries have been questioned. Reuters
Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Cabinet colleagues staged a protest outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Bengaluru on Thursday, demanding criminal investigation of alleged bulk Form 7 filings. Shivakumar said authorities should determine who prepared and submitted the applications and whether identities or signatures had been misused. The Economic Times