Karnataka BJP Challenges Shivakumar to Back 50 Lakh Voter Deletion Allegation With Evidence

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Friday, Vijayendra said the allegation was serious because Shivakumar had claimed that voters from minority communities, Dalits and backward classes were being targeted through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He said the Chief Minister should make documentary evidence supporting the charge public or withdraw the allegation.

Shivakumar has alleged that BJP and JD(S) workers were involved in efforts to remove large numbers of eligible voters through Form 7 applications. He raised the issue during a protest at the office of Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer on Thursday and sought a criminal investigation into the alleged misuse of the electoral-roll objection process.

Vijayendra rejected the allegation and said the BJP had not submitted anything close to the number of Form 7 applications claimed by the Chief Minister. According to figures cited by the BJP state president, around 25,000 Form 7 applications had been submitted across different Assembly constituencies, and he said they had not been filed exclusively by BJP workers.

He explained that Form 7 is an established mechanism through which objections can be raised against names appearing on electoral rolls, including cases involving deceased persons, duplicate registrations, voters who have shifted residence or individuals considered ineligible. The filing of such an application, he said, does not by itself result in a voter's name being removed.

Vijayendra stressed that decisions on additions, deletions and objections to electoral rolls are taken by the designated election authorities after the prescribed verification and inquiry process. He argued that the BJP itself does not have the authority to directly remove anyone from the electoral register.

The BJP leader also called on the Election Commission to release an official statewide figure for Form 7 applications, saying different numbers had emerged during the political dispute.

The controversy comes as the Election Commission has ordered election officials in Karnataka to take action against applicants found to have knowingly submitted false claims or declarations through electoral-roll forms. Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbukkumar directed Electoral Registration Officers to conduct inquiries and initiate proceedings where violations are established under the relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

The CEO's directive followed Shivakumar's protest over alleged bulk and fraudulent Form 7 filings. The order itself does not attribute the alleged irregularities to any particular political party and calls for action where false declarations are established through due process.

Vijayendra separately questioned the increase in registered voters in the Narasimharaja Assembly constituency in Mysuru. He said the BJP had raised concerns over an increase of roughly 1.30 lakh voters over the last two elections and called for the Election Commission to verify the figures and investigate any discrepancies.

He also alleged that questions had been raised over attempts by people from outside the constituency to register as voters there. Vijayendra said any such cases should be investigated by election authorities irrespective of the political affiliation of those involved.

Both the Congress and BJP have called for scrutiny of electoral-roll irregularities, but differ sharply over the nature and source of the alleged problems. Shivakumar has sought investigation into what he describes as an organised attempt to remove eligible voters, while the BJP has rejected the allegation and argued that Form 7 is a legitimate mechanism for raising objections to potentially ineligible entries.