Bhatkal, Karnataka – During the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, officials in Bhatkal and nearby Murdeshwar received a series of Form No 7 applications that sought to erase the names of eligible Muslim voters. The applications were turned down after election officers found them incomplete or suspicious.
In Murdeshwar, a political party functionary filed a single Form No 7 in his own name, requesting the deletion of 245 voters identified as belonging to a minority community. Election officials rejected the request because the required supporting documents were not attached. In Bhatkal, several unidentified individuals approached Booth Level Officers with dozens of forms across multiple polling stations. Authorities suspect that one person may have tried to submit the bulk of these applications and therefore refused to register them.
The controversy has sparked local debate about the motives behind the filings. Some residents wonder whether the effort mirrors similar incidents elsewhere in Karnataka, where attempts to purge minority voters have been linked to political calculations. In one reported case, a Bhatkal politician allegedly lodged a Form No 7 to delete a voter’s name even before the voter could appear at a hearing after receiving a deletion notice.
Parallel complaints have emerged from other parts of the state: Bhalki in Bidar district recorded a grievance over 3,244 voters marked absent, Belagavi reported an effort to delete 198 minority voters, and FIRs have been filed in Mysuru, Bengaluru’s Malleswaram (778 names), and Dakshina Kannada’s Belthangady constituency (279 applications from 16 booths, including 82 targeting Muslim voters in Ujire). Police and election authorities are probing all cases. In Gujarat, about 14 lakh Form No 7 applications were received during SIR, with roughly 1.8 lakh deemed valid after scrutiny. Bhatkal Assistant Election Officer and Assistant Commissioner Mahesh affirmed that documents are verified at the time of receipt and that only officially registered applications are counted, confirming a total of 87 Form No 7 submissions so far.
Image: sahilonline.org
📰 Source: Sahil Online