Mysuru: Mysuru district (city) Congress vice-president K C Showkath Pasha has urged the Deputy Commissioner (DC), who is also the District Election Officer (DEO), to convene an all-party meeting to discuss bulk submissions of Form 7 applications during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Pasha, who is overseeing the SIR process for the Congress in Mysuru city, has sought details of the Form 7 applications submitted across the Krishnaraja (KR), Chamaraja (CR) and Narasimharaja (NR) Assembly constituencies.
Congress seeks details of Form 7 applications
Pasha said around 2,500 Form 7 applications had reportedly been submitted in bulk from various polling booths across the three Mysuru city constituencies.
He urged the DC to direct the concerned Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to prepare and share detailed lists of the applications with all recognised political parties.
He also sought a meeting involving representatives of all political parties so that the details could be examined collectively.
The demand comes amid a wider controversy in Karnataka over allegations of bulk filing of Form 7 applications during the SIR exercise. Form 7 is used to object to the inclusion of a name in the electoral roll or seek deletion of an entry under specified grounds.
According to a recent report, about 2,828 Form 7 applications had been submitted in Mysuru district as of October 1.
Pasha alleges misuse of Form 7
Pasha said applicants submitting Form 7 are required to make a declaration and that furnishing false information can attract legal consequences.
He alleged that fraudulent activities may have taken place in connection with some bulk applications. He further alleged that RSS and BJP workers had printed Form 7 applications targeting minorities, Dalits and backward-class voters with the intention of getting their names removed from the electoral rolls.
These allegations have not been established as facts. Pasha has called for the applications and the circumstances surrounding their submission to be verified.
He also demanded that cases be registered against those found responsible for submitting fraudulent applications, irrespective of their political affiliation.
FIR registered over 501 applications
The Form 7 issue has already led to a police case in Mysuru. Krishnaraja police registered an FIR against unidentified persons following a complaint alleging that 501 Form 7 applications had been submitted in connection with voters in the constituency.
According to the complaint reported by The Times of India, 198 applications were submitted through one Mysuru City Corporation zone office, 273 through another and 30 through a third, taking the total to 501. The complainant alleged that the applications sought deletion of voters on grounds including permanent relocation and duplicate entries.
The police case concerns allegations of cheating, forgery and promoting enmity between different groups. The allegations remain subject to investigation.
The wider issue has also prompted the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer to direct Electoral Registration Officers across the state to initiate legal action where applicants knowingly submit false declarations.
Statewide controversy over SIR
The Mysuru developments are part of a larger political dispute over the SIR exercise in Karnataka. Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Congress leaders have alleged that Form 7 applications were being submitted in bulk in several constituencies with the intention of deleting eligible voters.
The Election Commission has sought reports from district authorities and directed officials to take action in cases involving false declarations. Three FIRs have also been reported in connection with alleged attempts to delete voter names through Form 7 applications.
The BJP, meanwhile, has disputed allegations that bulk submissions themselves constitute wrongdoing. A BJP delegation recently met Karnataka Director General and Inspector General of Police M A Saleem and sought a review of FIRs, arguing that Form 7 is a legitimate Election Commission mechanism and that bulk submission alone should not be treated as a criminal act.
Pasha responds to Pralhad Joshi’s statement
Pasha also responded to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi’s statement that staff involved in the SIR process are Karnataka government employees under the Congress government.
Pasha said that although the personnel may be state government employees, those deployed for the SIR exercise work under the directions and orders of the Election Commission of India.
He referred to Booth Level Officers (BLOs), supervisors, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), EROs and the DEO while arguing that the election authorities are responsible for supervising the electoral roll revision process.
Demand for transparency
Pasha’s demand for an all-party meeting centres on transparency in the handling of Form 7 applications. He has sought constituency- and booth-level details so that political parties can examine the applications and raise objections where necessary.
With the SIR process nearing its later stages, election authorities are required to scrutinise claims and objections before publication of the final electoral roll. In Mysuru, officials have previously said applications under Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8 would be processed before the final roll is published.
The dispute over Form 7 is therefore likely to remain an important issue in Mysuru as officials verify applications and political parties seek greater access to information about voter-list changes.