ECI ordered to probe Form 7 fraud allegations after protest by Karnataka CM Shivakumar

Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar along with cabinet ministers stage a protest outside the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Bengaluru against the mass filing of Form 7 to delete Muslim voters from the draft electoral roll during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). | Photo credit: Allen Egenuse J

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered an inquiry into the mass filing of Form 7 to delete names from the final electoral rolls following a five-hour protest by Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and his cabinet colleagues.

Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbu Kumar has directed all Election Registration Officers (EROs) to take action against applicants who “knowingly” make false statements or representations while making claims or objections in Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8.

Mr. Shivakumar withdrew the protest after the announcement.

Earlier in the day, he claimed that “pre-filled” Form-7s were filed en masse across the state by opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) workers targeting Muslims, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, claiming that they had either “removed” or were “removed”.

The Chief Minister said that many Form-7s were either fake or forged. In at least two cases, in Belagavi and Vijayapura, BJP workers who filed Form 7 en masse withdrew them after being warned of punitive action if the claims were found false. In a written statement, they said they had made a mistake.

The Karnataka Police on Thursday (October 1, 2026) registered five FIRs regarding mass Form 7s citing the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita Act, 2023 and not the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as only EC officials can file complaints under the Act. Mr. Shivakumar demanded that the polling authority take suo motu action and file a criminal complaint.

Mr. Anbu Kumar noted that there were cases of mass submission of Form 7 applications to the ERO and that some of the forms were “allegedly false” and ordered the ERO to take action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 “against applicants found to have knowingly made false statements or representations”.

“However, such a suit will be preceded by an inquiry under Rule 20 of the Voters Registration Rules, 1960,” he said.

The BJP supported its workers in filling Form 7, saying that it is not a crime to mark voters suspected of wrongdoing.

Earlier in the day, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, took to social media referring to a report by The Hindu on how Form-7 applications against Muslim names were filed en masse in Belagavi and other districts, saying it was further evidence of “vote theft”.

“Selected people are being targeted as BJP and EC officials conspire to fill Form 7 en masse through automated means and millions disappear from the electoral rolls in the blink of an eye. And all this is controlled from the top,” he said.

Mr. Shivakumar also quoted the report in a press conference.

Published – 1 October 2026 22:45 IST