Congress accuses BJP of using pre-filled Form 7 applications to delete Muslim voters

The Congress party in Karnataka and Telangana has accused BJP functionaries and booth-level agents of using pre-filled and pre-printed Form-7 applications to systematically delete thousands of Muslim voters and political rivals from electoral rolls.

Form 7 is the official document used to object to a person's inclusion on a voter list or to request the deletion of an existing name. The Congress alleges that instead of individuals independently filing these requests, the BJP distributed mass-produced forms with the target voters' details already printed on them.

The allegations in Telangana

In Hyderabad, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee filed a formal complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer on 1 October. The complaint alleges an attempt to strike Congress worker Shafuddin and roughly 30 members of his family off the voter list in the Musheerabad constituency.

The filing named S. Balachander, a BJP booth-level agent, as the person behind the submissions. The Congress has urged the Election Commission to examine the original physical applications, verify signatures, and investigate whether they share a common source or formatting.

Mary Thomas, the booth level officer for the area, told news website South First that the forms were under review. She said the BJP agent claimed the family was registered in another constituency, though local election workers had previously verified they only had votes in Musheerabad. The applications have been sent to the electoral registration officer for formal review.

The dispute has since widened. Pulipati Rajesh Kumar, chairman of the state Congress’s Election Commission Coordination Committee, said an insider within the BJP provided him with another pre-printed Form 7 from Aliyabad in the Bahadurpura constituency. This application had a Muslim voter's details pre-filled, while the applicant's section was left entirely blank.

Kumar claimed that BJP constituency in-charges had distributed bulk pre-printed forms across all 119 assembly constituencies in Telangana.

Mass filings in Karnataka

Similar allegations have emerged in Karnataka, where Congress leaders staged protests at the State Election Commission office.

At a press conference in Mysuru on Friday, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson M. Lakshmana displayed copies of several Form-7 applications. He alleged that BJP agents submitted bulk forms to booth level officers on 23 September, the final day for claims and objections.

Lakshmana noted that while the applicant details on the forms were handwritten, the names of the Muslim voters targeted for deletion were neatly printed.

"How can these BJP functionaries get access to Form-7 applications containing pre-filled, printed names of Muslim voters if the Election Commission of India is not involved?" Lakshmana asked, demanding an investigation into senior state BJP leaders and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

He estimated that as many as 500,000 such applications could have been submitted across Karnataka.

Some requests have already been walked back. Lakshmana shared a letter from Rudrappa, a BJP agent in Chamundeshwari constituency, who reportedly withdrew applications to delete 21 Muslim voters, citing a "lack of complete information."

In Mysuru, Syed Hasrathulla, a former city corporator, has filed a police complaint after discovering that he and several other Muslim voters in his ward had been targeted.

What happens next

The final electoral rolls in Karnataka are scheduled for publication on 27 October. Following the Congress protests, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer ordered an investigation into the bulk submissions.

In Telangana, Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy said officials would thoroughly verify all Form-7 applications before making any decisions. The Election Commission of India has directed local officers to specifically scrutinise any instance where a single individual files more than five deletion requests.