BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has alleged that the BJP and JDS leaders were conspiring to delete the names of an additional 50-60 lakh voters from the electoral rolls in the state by submitting prefilled Form-7 through their party workers.
He said this number is in addition to 1.07 crore voter names deleted and 45 lakh voters receiving notices over so-called discrepancies.
Calling it the biggest criminal conspiracy, the CM said that thousands of Form-7s have been submitted by BJP workers and leaders in every constituency targeting minorities, SC, ST and Backward Classes voters. “Each of them submitted 50 to 200 applications illegally. Form-7 has been printed in BJP’s office containing complete details of voters, including their names, addresses and EPIC numbers,” Shivakumar told reporters.
He said Karnataka was the first state to raise the issue of Vote Chori.
Shivakumar said that after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, names of more than 1 crore voters were deleted and around 45 lakh people received notices. “Other than this, now they are also trying to remove SC, ST, minorities, and OBC voters. We extended all possible cooperation.
But now, in the name of Form-7, a big conspiracy is being played out. Prefilled Form-7 applications containing voters’ details are being distributed in bulk to party workers in every Assembly constituency. We want to know which agency has supplied these forms?” Shivakumar said, claiming that each person was given between 70 and 200 forms and thousands of people have received such forms across the state. “We estimate that around 50 lakh names could be targeted,” the CM said.
FIRs have already been filed by individuals in Belagavi, Bhalki and Mysuru, he said. He pointed out that it was the duty of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to file an FIR immediately. “As the Chief Minister of the state, it is my responsibility to safeguard the rights of voters,” he said, appealing to all Booth Level Officers (BLOs), tahsildars and deputy commissioners to file official complaints.
He said there was a need for a detailed investigation. “Criminal cases must be registered. An investigation must be ordered against those allegedly behind this conspiracy,” he demanded. “Although there was a cabinet meeting (on Thursday), voters’ rights are our priority,” he said. He also said that he would discuss the matter with his legal team and that the police would also conduct their investigation.
The CM further alleged that the BJP and JDS, unable to win elections, were attempting to resort to irregularities through the SIR process. He alleged that such an exercise could not have been carried out without the knowledge of the Election Commission of India and Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar.
Shivakumar further said there are no Assembly elections due in Karnataka in the immediate future, but gram panchayat elections are scheduled, and the names of affected voters could be missing from the draft electoral rolls.
The CM demanded immediate action and the arrest of those allegedly involved in the “conspiracy”.
In the memorandum to the CEO, the CM said that it has been reported that approximately 3,000 Form-7s were filed in Belagavi North constituency, 6,259 in Mudigere, 1,373 in Babaleshwar, 1,200 in Narasimharaja, and 2,285 in Bhalki. He also said Ravi B Patil, the defeated BJP candidate from Belagavi North, has publicly acknowledged that Form-7s were filed in large numbers through his associates.
Separately, Jadav of the Belagavi District Yuva BJP Morcha has also publicly acknowledged that Form-7s were filed in large numbers through his associates, he said. Apart from this, the CM said that it has also been brought to his notice that some BLOs have returned bulk Form 7 applications.
Shivakumar also requested the CEO to undertake a thorough, impartial and time-bound investigation into the entire matter. The investigation may examine the constituency-wise and booth-wise pattern of Form-7 filings, the persons filing unusually large numbers of applications, their relationship with the voters concerned, the source of voter and EPIC details in pre-printed forms, and any unauthorised access to or misuse of electoral data, Shivakumar added.