Bengaluru, 1 October

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, along with his Cabinet colleagues and MLAs, held a sit-in protest outside CEO V Anbukkumar's office on Thursday, demanding that the State Election Commission begin an investigation into the mass Form 7 applications that the Congress claimed were submitted at the behest of the BJP and JD(S). 

Form 7 is an application that anyone can file to object to the proposed inclusion of any individual’s name to the electoral roll. 

Shivakumar and Congress leaders had met Anbukkumar for around two-and-a-half hours and submitted a representation alleging that a substantial number of the voters proposed for deletion belonged to Dalit, ST/SC, OBC, and minority communities. 

Shivakumar claimed that thousands of Form 7 applications were filed in bulk between 22-24 September. 

He cited reports of approximately 3,000 applications in Belagavi North, 6,259 in Mudigere, 1,373 in Babaleshwar, 1,200 in Narasimha Raja and 2,285 in Bhalki constituencies, besides "similarly large numbers" in other constituencies, and indicated that the number could be higher. 

“Your vote is being targeted, and we have the proof,” Shivakumar said at a presser earlier.  “This isn't a clerical error. It's a conspiracy against democracy.”

"There is a big conspiracy by BJP and Janata Dal leaders," Shivakumar said, alleging that bulk Form 7 applications were being filed to delete eligible voters and claiming that "more than 45 lakh" voters were facing discrepancies in the electoral roll.

Shivakumar said he would stay at the CEO’s office until Anbukkumar officially registered a criminal complaint, even though his Cabinet was scheduled to meet on Thursday. As per the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has sole jurisdiction over electoral rolls, and only EC officials can file complaints over alleged electoral offences, which is why Shivakumar demanded that the body begins suo motu cognisance. 

CEO ORDERS ACTION

At least three FIRs were registered after the Congress’ protest, and the CEO’s office directed EROs to take action as per the law against people who made “knowingly false” statements in Form 6, 6A, 7 and 8 applications over allegations that some of the bulk applications were not genuine.