Karnataka SIR: Form 7 submissions surged from 58,475 to 2.28 lakh in 1 month, shows data

In Karnataka, the number of Form 7 submissions increased significantly from 58,475 to 228,917 within a month, according to data released by the Election Commission. Form 7 is used to lodge objections against a name's inclusion in the voter list or request its deletion. The surge in submissions occurred between June 16 and October 22, while all Form-7 applications from September 23 to October 22 were processed on priority. The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office released the final roll on October 27.

The ruling Congress party in Karnataka alleged that the opposition BJP was misusing Form-7 applications to file bulk objections. As a result, the CEO office initiated a probe by Electoral Registration Officers. However, the state BJP rejected these allegations.

Apart from Form 7, the Election Commission received 10.42 lakh Form 6s for including names in the electoral roll and 13.10 lakh Form 8s for correcting entries such as voter address changes. The SIR (Special Intensive Revision) exercise in Karnataka has been a subject of intense political and civil society controversy since the completion of the enumeration phase in August.

During this phase, over 1.08 crore electors were left out, reducing Karnataka's total voter tally from 5.54 crore to 4.46 crore in the draft electoral roll. It is estimated that around 1.2 crore voters featured in the rolls before the SIR exercise will likely be removed.

Voters were also concerned about the bulk submission of Form 7s, leading to over 10 FIRs registered in police stations across the state. The Bijapur district, where instances of bulk submissions first surfaced, received 4,666 Form 7 submissions.