“Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar should prove his allegations that the BJP had misused Form-7 applications to seek the deletion of eligible voters from electoral rolls,” BJP State unit president B.Y. Vijayendra said on October 2. He demanded the Chief Minister’s resignation if he fails to do so. 

“We (BJP) will not be afraid even if 1,000 FIRs are filed against us. We will fight the cases in court,” Mr. Vijayendra said, accusing the Chief Minister of attempting to turn Karnataka into an ‘FIR State’.

On October 1. Mr. Shivakumar, accompanied by Cabinet colleagues, staged a protest in front of the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Bengaluru demanding an investigation into the filing of Form 7 applications in bulk seeking the deletion of voters, particularly from Muslim, Dalit and backward-class communities.  Mr. Shivakumar had alleged that ‘pre-filled’ forms containing voters’ details had been submitted in several constituencies as part of a ‘conspiracy’ to remove eligible voters from the rolls. He sought criminal action against those responsible. 

SIR: ‘Big conspiracy’ in Karnataka? D.K. Shivakumar alleges misuse of Form-7

Big conspiracy underway in Karnataka, many pre-printed Form-7s being supplied to BJP, JD(S) leaders with intention to delete eligible voters: Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar flagging issues with SIR in the state. | Video Credit: The Hindu

Calling the protest a ‘staged drama’, Mr. Vijayendra accused the Congress of shifting the blame onto the BJP instead of addressing reported irregularities in the electoral rolls.

“Who is in power in Karnataka today? Your own party is running the government. The Booth Level Officers are under your control,” he said, questioning the Chief Minister’s allegations against the BJP. 

Mr. Vijayendra claimed that only 25,000 Form 7 applications had been filed in Karnataka, against the Chief Minister’s claim that lakhs of voters were at risk of deletion. He argued that Form-7 is an official mechanism provided by the Election Commission to seek the removal of ineligible entries, and that its use by itself is not illegal.  

Citing the Mysuru district’s minority-dominated Narasimharaja and Krishnaraja Assembly constituencies, Mr. Vijayendra argued that the number of voters in one of the constituencies had increased by 1.3 lakh over the last two elections. He alleged that people from other States and neighbouring constituencies had enrolled in the electoral rolls in Krishnaraja despite their names already appearing elsewhere. 

He further claimed that similar irregularities had occurred in Shantinagar and Shivajinagar constituencies in Bengaluru, and in Gulbarga South, particularly in constituencies with a sizeable minority population. He alleged that people from neighbouring Kerala had enrolled in electoral rolls in BJP-dominated constituencies in Dakshina Kannada district.