In a similar trend seen across multiple Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, where pre-filled Form-7 applications were filed in bulk seeking deletion of Muslim voters’ names, at least 50 applications were filed against Muslim names at a single polling station at the Government Higher Primary School at Bydagotta in Kodagu district on September 23 alone. The objectors said the forms had been sent from the “party office”. All the applications cited “absent” as the reason for deletion. 

Data accessed by The Hindu shows that at least 50 Form-7 applications were filed by objectors named Rajni, B.N. Basavaraju, Lokesh, Savitha Malali, and A.C. Nagaraj. However, officials in Somwarpet where the polling station is, said they had not received any of these applications.

When contacted by The Hindu, Mr. Basavaraju and Ms. Rajni said they had filed 10 applications each, claiming they had “doubts” that the voters had “duplicate” entries. 

Asked why “absent” had been cited as the reason when they had claimed the voters had duplicate entries, the objectors said they did not know the details and had followed instructions from the party office in Somwarpet.

They further declined to name the party but added that five people were given 10 forms each. “We had doubts that these people have duplicate votes, so we told BLOs that we want to fill Form-7 and filled it offline,” Mr. Basavaraju said. 

However, it is to be noted that the forms were already printed with the voters’ names and EPIC numbers, similar to applications seen in other constituencies.  

From June 16 to September 24, a total of 61,130 Form-7 applications were filed across the State.