Karnataka SIR: More than 23,700 Form-7 applications received after claims and objections period

Even after the claims and objections period got over, at least 23,770 Form-7 applications seeking deletion of names from electoral rolls were received between September 24, a day after the claims and objections period ended, and October 1, data from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, show.

This new revelation comes a day after Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and his Cabinet colleagues staged an over-five-hour protest at the Karnataka CEO’s office and made the CEO relent, ordering legal action over false claims in bulk Form-7 applications filed across the State. In Bhalki, Babaleshwar, Belagavi North, Kodagu and several other constituencies, pre-filled Form-7 applications were filed in bulk, mostly targeting Muslim voters.

The number of Form-7 applications received between June 16, when the electoral rolls were frozen ahead of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and September 24 stood at 61,130. As of October 1, the number had increased to 84,990, a whopping rise of about 40%.

Applications filed after the claims and objections period will be considered only after the SIR process, while those filed up to September 23 will be considered for the final electoral rolls, scheduled to be published on October 27. In a press release on Friday, however, the CEO’s office said, “Out of the 84,900 Form-7 received, the number of forms received for objection to proposed inclusion is nil.”

District-wise data also show a significant increase in Form-7 applications after the claims and objections period ended. In Kodagu, for instance, the number increased from 696 applications received until September 23 to 1,143 as of October 1. In Shivamogga, the figure rose from 3,685 to 5,760 over the same period.

The Hindu had reported that bulk filing continued even after the objections period ended in constituencies such as Bhalki in Bidar district. The statutory Form-10 report shows that 1,131 applications were received in Bhalki between September 24 and 29, of which 1,123 were bulk filings. 

When asked about the figures on applications, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar maintained that they were “as per the dashboard data”.

Meanwhile, of the 43,82,306 notices issued during the SIR, only 39,169 are yet to be delivered. Hearings have been completed in 35,60,833 cases, while more than 7.82 lakh hearings remain pending. The last hearing will be conducted on October 12, the CEO’s office said.