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A BJP Booth Level Agent (BLA) and election officials have been booked in Karnataka’s Ballari over alleged attempts to delete the names of 7,561 voters from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The FIR was registered at Brucepet police station on October 1 following a complaint by Goutham S, a Congress BLA. The case names BJP corporator T Srinivas Mothkur, who is also the party’s BLA-1, along with election officials.
The others booked include Ballari City Corporation Assistant Commissioner Nandish, Booth Level Officer (BLO) Sumalatha and case worker Sharanabasava. Other election personnel have also been named in the complaint.
The case has been registered under sections 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 pertaining to statements conducing to public mischief.
According to the complaint, Srinivas sought re-verification of 7,561 voter entries on September 21, claiming the voters were absent, had shifted or were registered elsewhere. The election authorities initially rejected the request, saying the claims were not supported by documents or other information.
Srinivas then submitted a list of 7,561 voters and sought to file Form 7 objections against their names. Form 7 is used to object to the inclusion of a name or seek deletion of an existing entry from the electoral roll under certain criteria.
In a letter to the Ballari City Corporation on September 21, Srinivas said he had attempted to submit the Form 7 applications through the concerned BLOs, but many had refused to accept them. He said only a few BLOs had accepted the applications and that he had therefore taken the remaining applications directly to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO).
The ERO told him that BLAs could submit applications in bulk, but no more than 10 applications could be submitted to a BLO at a time or in a day. If more than 30 applications were submitted by a BLA during the claims and objections period, the ERO or Assistant ERO had to personally cross-verify them.
The BLA was also required to submit a list of the applications along with a declaration stating that the details had been personally verified and were correct, the ERO said.
Srinivas made another attempt on September 22, writing to election authorities that he was ready to submit objections against the 7,561 voters listed in the draft electoral roll. He enclosed the list and sought action to complete the revision process.
The authorities again rejected the request, saying the registration status of the voters could not be verified merely on the basis of the complaint.
Goutham subsequently approached the police, alleging that Srinivas had submitted Form 7 applications against the 7,561 electors and that election officials at some polling stations had re-verified the names based on his objections.
The complaint further alleged that around 98.08 per cent of the voters targeted for deletion belonged to minority communities. These allegations are part of the complaint and will be subject to investigation.
The case is the sixth FIR registered in Karnataka in connection with alleged misuse of Form 7 during the SIR. Of the previous five cases, three, including two in Belagavi and one in Mysuru, named BJP members as accused.
The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer recently directed election officials to initiate action against applicants who knowingly make false claims or objections through electoral forms.
The BJP has opposed the registration of criminal cases against its workers over Form 7 submissions. Senior BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, state president BY Vijayendra and Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, met Director General and Inspector General of Police MA Saleem on Saturday and sought a review of FIRs related to the electoral-roll exercise.
