Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, along with his Cabinet colleagues and MLAs, staged a sit-in outside Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V Anbukkumar’s office on Thursday, October 1, demanding a first information report (FIR) over “electoral fraud” during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Shivakumar also put Cabinet meeting on hold to stage the demonstration at the CEO’s office.
The CM held a meeting with Anbukkumar for about two-and-a-half hours before announcing the sit-in. He said he would not leave the place until an inquiry was ordered and an FIR registered.
He said he would remain outside the CEO’s office until he was satisfied that voters were being protected amid allegations of misuse of Form 7 during the SIR.
Form 7 is an application form for filing objections to the proposed inclusion or deletion of a name from the existing electoral rolls.
‘Will remain until I get satisfaction that I can protect people’
Asked how long he would remain at the election office, Shivakumar said, “I will remain here until I get the satisfaction that, under the law, I can protect the people through our fight.”
Asked about the Election Commission‘s response, he said, “You should ask them that.”
Shivakumar said the Chief Electoral Officer had understood the issue and seen the misuse himself.
“He has understood it. He has seen it with his eyes,” he said.
He said officials had issued Form 7 and sought a day, but expressed apprehension that the issue could subsequently be diluted through the intervention of senior leaders.
On the data being used in connection with the Special Intensive Revision exercise, Shivakumar said an agency had compiled voter details based on various categories and provided the information.
“Data based on categories such as the poor, particular castes, particular communities, minorities and farmers, and identifying those who are unlikely to vote, have been leaked. They (violators) have compiled and provided all that data,” he alleged.
CM submits memorandum
The CM handed over a memorandum to the CEO, seeking an immediate, impartial and time-bound probe into the bulk filing of Form 7 applications seeking deletion of voters’ names during the ongoing SIR.
In his letter to the CEO, Shivakumar said it was his “bounden duty” as CM to protect the rights of every eligible voter and ensure that the revision process was free, fair, transparent and legally compliant.
Shivakumar said he had been informed that a large number of Form 7 objections had been filed in bulk, particularly on September 22, 23 and 24, towards the end of the claims and objections period.
Irregularities in Form 7s
He cited reports of approximately 3,000 applications in Belagavi North, 6,259 in Mudigere, 1,373 in Babaleshwar, 1,200 in Narasimha Raja and 2,285 in Bhalki constituencies, besides “similarly large numbers” in other constituencies.
The CM said the scale and manner of the filings raised concerns over whether eligible voters belonging to minority communities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes were being selectively targeted.
“A substantial proportion of the voters proposed for deletion reportedly belong to minority communities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes,” he said, adding that the pattern required “immediate and impartial verification.”
He flagged instances where the names, EPIC numbers and other particulars of voters proposed for deletion appeared to have been pre-printed on Form 7 applications, with the objectors’ details filled in subsequently.
EPIC refers to the Election Photo Identity Card number, a 10-digit unique identification number assigned to each voter.
CEO asked to verify
The CM asked the CEO to verify reports of individuals filing unusually large numbers of Form 7 applications and independently examine the reported political affiliations of some applicants, including their alleged association with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) workers.
Referring to Belagavi North, Shivakumar said defeated BJP candidate Dr Ravi B Patil had publicly acknowledged that Form 7 applications were filed in large numbers through his associates.
He referred to an alleged public acknowledgement by Jadav of the Belagavi District Yuva BJP Morcha.
The CM said video recordings of the statements had been widely circulated and enclosed with the letter for investigation.
Shivakumar said some Booth Level Officers (BLOs) had returned bulk Form 7 applications. He asked the CEO to collect details from the concerned BLOs, including the constituencies and booths involved, the persons who submitted the applications, the number of forms and the reasons for their return.
The CM sought an objective probe into allegations regarding the possible involvement, direction or knowledge of political functionaries and asked the Election Commission to establish responsibility based on evidence.
He requested a constituency-wise and booth-wise examination of Form 7 filings, identification of persons who submitted unusually large numbers of applications, their relationship with the voters concerned, and the source of voter and EPIC details used in pre-printed forms.
He urged the CEO to investigate the matter “immediately and on the highest priority”, register FIRs in cases where offences were established and initiate appropriate criminal action against those responsible.
He called upon the CEO to ensure that the integrity of the electoral rolls and the rights of all eligible voters were fully protected.
Congress Karnataka president B K Hariprasad also joined the protest.
Karnataka Minister calls for immediate suspension of Form 7s
Karnataka Minister Arshad Rizwan has separately submitted a representation to the CEO calling for an immediate suspension of Form 7 applications, calling them an “organised misuse.”
He demanded that the official freeze the processing, verification, and abjudication of all currently filed private Form 7 objections and initiate an inquiry into bulk or false filings.
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