‘Form 7 Misused To Mass-Delete Voters Before 2023 Polls’

Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday, 18 September, accused the previous BJP government of orchestrating large-scale voter deletions ahead of the May 2023 assembly elections by misusing Form 7, the application used to remove names from electoral rolls. His comments followed allegations made earlier in the day by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who claimed that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted, citing Karnataka’s Aland assembly constituency as a prime example.

Rahul Gandhi stated, “In Aland alone, 6,018 deletions were attempted, of which 5,994 were fraudulent.” He further alleged that “strong Congress booths, especially those with Dalit and minority voters, were targeted.” These claims have raised serious concerns about the integrity of the electoral process in the state.

Echoing Rahul Gandhi’s accusations, Priyank Kharge described the situation as a “sophisticated vote chori factory.” He explained that “automated software and fake logins were used to push bulk deletions.” Kharge highlighted specific instances to illustrate the scale and speed of the alleged fraud, saying, “In one case, 12 voters were deleted within just 14 minutes, and in another, a 63-year-old woman’s identity was misused to delete 12 voters.” He added that verification later confirmed that “2,494 voters had already been deleted before the fraud was caught.”

Kharge also raised concerns about the lack of cooperation from the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the ongoing investigation. He revealed that the Karnataka CID, which is probing the case, “has written 18 times to the Election Commission seeking IP logs, OTP trails, device IDs, and login details but has not received the information.” He questioned the Commission’s role, asking, “Who approved these deletions? Where is the OTP audit trail? Why is the ECI refusing to cooperate with CID? Whom is the Commission protecting?”

Rahul Gandhi had also accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of shielding “vote chors” and undermining democracy. However, the Election Commission has dismissed these charges as “incorrect and baseless,” maintaining that the allegations lack merit.

The controversy has sparked a heated debate over electoral transparency and accountability in Karnataka. With serious accusations of voter manipulation and alleged institutional inaction, the issue continues to draw attention from political leaders and the public alike. As investigations proceed, many await clarity on the extent of the alleged fraud and the steps that will be taken to safeguard the democratic process.