Asaduddin Owaisi warns of Hyderabad protests over alleged Form 7 voter deletions

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has warned that Hyderabad will see street protests larger than those witnessed at Delhi's Jantar Mantar if electoral authorities allow fraudulent objection forms to strip genuine voters from the rolls.

Speaking at a gathering at Milad Maidan in Hyderabad, the local MP accused workers from the Bharatiya Janata Party and affiliated Sangh Parivar organisations of misusing Form 7—the official document used to seek the deletion of a name from electoral lists—to target Muslim electors en masse.

Owaisi claimed that pre-printed Form 7 submissions have been arriving at election offices carrying the names of voters marked for removal, while leaving the identity and contact details of the applicant entirely blank.

"If false Form 7 are being filed, we appeal to the Election Commission to take action against those responsible," Owaisi said. "If this drama does not stop, remember: protests bigger than those at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar will take place on the roads and streets of Hyderabad, and it will create a lot of trouble for you. Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen will not remain silent."

What is Form 7 and how is it used?

Form 7 is the statutory application prescribed by the Election Commission of India for any person seeking to raise an objection against an entry in an electoral roll or to request that an existing name be deleted, typically in cases of death, relocation or duplicate entries. Under electoral guidelines, objections require verification and the applicant must disclose their own identity so that election officials can confirm that the objection is genuine.

Owaisi argued that anonymous or improperly submitted forms should be rejected immediately. He urged the Election Commission, Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharshan Reddy, and local district electoral officers to intervene and hold those submitting fraudulent claims accountable.

Earlier in the week, Owaisi visited revision centres in the Karwan assembly constituency, alleging that notices were being served improperly, including to families with six or more children. The party has set up local help desks across Hyderabad to assist residents who receive notices regarding their voter registration status.

The Special Intensive Revision in Telangana

The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of Telangana’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which has drawn close scrutiny from political parties across the state.

In August, election authorities identified roughly 92 lakh electors across Telangana whose records carried anomalies or could not be matched against historical 2002 rolls, prompting notices to verify their credentials.

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharshan Reddy recently announced that roughly 54 lakh of the 92 lakh voters served with notices have already had their status verified and secured on the primary electoral list. Verification work for the remaining 40 lakh electors is underway to collect supporting documents before final rolls are prepared, with officials noting that only deceased voters or those who have permanently migrated would be struck off.

The Election Commission had previously revised the statewide timetable for the revision drive, extending the period for filing claims and objections to 7 October, with the publication of the final electoral rolls scheduled for 9 November.