Over 1.28 Lakh Form 7s Filed Just Before Karnataka SIR; 45,878 By Third Parties, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• Over 1.28 lakh Form 7 applications for voter deletion were filed in Karnataka in the month leading up to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
• Of these, 45,878 applications were submitted by third parties, accounting for 35.6% of all deletion requests during that period.
• A significant portion (2,254) of third-party applications were "bulk applications" filed by just 112 individuals, each submitting 11 or more requests.
• The majority of these deletion requests cited death (36,439) or "absent or permanent shifted" (6,775) as reasons.
• These applications were processed before Booth Level Officers (BLOs) began the door-to-door enumeration for the SIR, raising concerns about premature deletions.

Detailed Insights:

• The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a comprehensive exercise by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to verify and update electoral rolls through house-to-house enumeration.
• Form 7 is the prescribed application for objecting to or requesting the deletion of a name from the electoral roll, typically for reasons like death, permanent relocation, or duplicate entries.
• The article highlights that the categories for deletion via Form 7 (Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate, Others - ASDDO) are the same ones BLOs are meant to identify during the SIR enumeration.
• The acceptance of Form 7 applications before the SIR enumeration began suggests a potential procedural gap, as verification of electors' details had not yet occurred.
• In at least 28 Assembly constituencies, over 1,000 Form 7 applications were filed before enumeration, with 20 of these constituencies represented by the Congress party.
• Districts like Belagavi, Bagalkot, and Raichur, all Congress-dominated, reported the highest numbers of deletion applications.
• There have been instances where political party workers, such as those from the BJP in Belagavi North, distributed pre-filled Form 7 applications targeting specific communities.
• The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka stated that pending Form 7 applications were processed based on existing records until June 16, 2026, but did not clarify if notices were served to affected electors.
• The ECI has recently capped individual Form 7 deletion requests to a maximum of 10 during revision periods and five per month during continuous updation to curb arbitrary deletions.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Electoral Roll: A list of all eligible voters in a particular constituency, maintained by the Election Commission of India.
• Form 7: An application form used to object to the inclusion of a name or to request the deletion of a name from the electoral roll.
• Special Intensive Revision (SIR): A comprehensive exercise by the ECI involving house-to-house verification to update and purify electoral rolls.
• Booth Level Officer (BLO): A local government official appointed by the ECI to maintain the electoral roll at the polling booth level and assist voters.
• Chief Electoral Officer (CEO): The senior election official in a state or Union Territory, appointed by the ECI to supervise all election work.
• Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO): An officer appointed by the ECI to assist the Electoral Registration Officer in performing their functions related to electoral rolls.