The NDA delegation, led by (L to R) Shobha Karandlaje, Basavaraj Bommai, R. Ashok, H.D. Kumaraswamy, and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, addressed the media after meeting V. Anbu Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, in Bengaluru on Monday (October 5).
| Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
Days after at least four FIRs were registered against BJP workers for seeking deletion of names, mostly of Muslim voters, through Form-7, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) accused the Congress-led State government of “unlawfully” interfering in and influencing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and using the police machinery to intimidate people filing Form-7 objections.
The alliance met Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V. Anbu Kumar and submitted a complaint against the State government on Monday (October 5).
BJP and JD(S) leaders, including Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje and Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly R. Ashok, said that members of the ruling Congress and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) workers were “extensively and unduly influencing and interfering” in the process.
Defending the filing of Form-7 objections, including in bulk, as a legitimate statutory right, the NDA cited the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, under which an objection to the inclusion of a name in the electoral roll has to be filed in Form-7 by a person whose name is already included in the roll “for corrections”. The NDA said Form-7 objections were subject to scrutiny, with the ERO required to issue notices and conduct an inquiry before taking a decision.
The party members also pointed to the appellate mechanism, saying that a person dissatisfied with the ERO/AERO’s decision can appeal, with a further appeal before the CEO.
Citing these provisions, the NDA alleged that the State government was using the police to target people filing Form-7 objections, particularly BJP workers and those sympathetic to the party. It alleged that, instead of restricting action to Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with false statements and declarations, the police were registering cases invoking offences such as cheating, forgery, intimidation and breach of peace.
Pointing further to the protest held by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and his cabinet colleagues at the CEO office on October 1, NDA said it amounted to pressure on the CEO’s office, stating that the CEO appeared to have “succumbed” to pressure from the State government.
The parties said the CM’s protest and the CEO’s circular issued on the same day directing EROs to take action against anyone knowingly filing false statements, had created apprehension among people who had filed Form-7 applications, who now feared criminal cases.
Published – October 05, 2026 08:59 pm IST
