BJP, JD(S) defend bulk Form 7 filings, allege ‘false FIRs’ in Karnataka

The BJP-JD(S) delegation also alleged that the Karnataka Congress government was exerting 'undue influence' on the SIR process. (Photo: Special arrangement)

A delegation of BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders on Monday submitted a petition to the Karnataka chief electoral officer (CEO), urging him to direct the state police not to register “false or unwarranted FIRs against individuals, including BJP workers” for allegedly filing Form 7s in bulk to disenfranchise eligible voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners also sought that CEO V Anbukumar instruct the electoral registration officers (ERO) and assistant EROs to “safeguard the interests of individuals filing Form 7 objections” as there was “no bar on filing bulk objections through Form 7”.

Form 7 allows an elector to object to the inclusion of a name or seek deletion of an existing entry from the electoral roll.

The delegation’s memorandum also accused the Congress government in Karnataka of unduly influencing and interfering in the SIR process. “The members of the ruling government, along with their party workers are also misusing the state police machinery by filing false and serious criminal charges against individuals who have been filing objections through Form 7, thereby creating a sense of fear and apprehension in the minds of objectors and diluting the entire exercise of SIR,” the NDA partners said in the petition.

Karnataka voter row: Protests escalate

Last week, a Karnataka BJP delegation had met Director General and Inspector General of Police M A Saleem, alleging that criminal cases were being registered against BJP workers and political activists for submitting Form 7 objections.

The development came amid the Karnataka Congress government filing multiple FIRs across the state based on complaints by voters who discovered that Form 7s were submitted against their names despite them being genuine voters.

A protest by Congress leaders, led by Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, saw Anbukumar agreeing to initiate legal action against those responsible for filing bulk Form 7 applications to remove eligible voters.

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No bar on bulk objections: BJP, JD(S)

“There exists a provision to file applications in bulk for identifying corrections to be carried out in the draft electoral rolls. Hence, there is no bar on filing bulk objections through Form-7 as per the communique issued by the Hon’ble Election Commission of India dated 16.01.2026… There are no restrictions on the number of Form-7 applications that may be submitted to the ERO/AERO… Hence, no illegality is committed while submitting Form-7,” the BJP-JD(S) petition said.

The two parties also raised questions about the protest staged by Shivakumar and other ministers in front of the CEO’s office. “We express our serious concern and disapproval regarding the undue influence exerted by the state government on the constitutional process of SIR. It is also distressing to note that the chief electoral officer appears to have succumbed to such pressure,” it added.