Karnataka Records 2.28 Lakh Form-7 Applications, Final Voter Roll Due October 27

Karnataka received 2,28,917 Form-7 applications between June 16 and October 22 during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, amid allegations of bulk submissions, according to official data.

Data shared by the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office showed that 58,475 applications had been received by September 23. The office said all applications received up to that date had been cleared on priority.

The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 27. Form-7 is used to raise objections to the inclusion of a person's name in the electoral roll or seek deletion of an existing entry.

The ruling Congress, led by Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, has accused the opposition BJP of misusing the form to submit objections in bulk. Shivakumar has also raised the issue with the CEO. The BJP has rejected the allegations.

Among the districts and electoral areas, Bengaluru Urban recorded the highest number of Form-7 applications at 24,268, followed by BBMP South with 19,662 and BBMP North with 18,659. Dakshina Kannada received 10,496 applications, Tumakuru 9,650 and Shivamogga 8,755.

The CEO's office said 43,82,824 notices had been generated and delivered, and hearings had been completed in all cases across the state. The notices were issued to electors whose names fell under the 'no mapping' and 'anomalies' categories during the revision exercise.

Between June 16 and October 22, the office received 10,42,863 Form-6 applications, 4,840 Form-6A applications, 2,28,917 Form-7 applications and 13,10,841 Form-8 applications. The total stood at 25,87,461 applications.

Form-8 is used to seek a change of residence or correction of entries in the electoral roll.

The CEO's office said enrolment and correction of electoral records were continuous processes. Applications can be submitted online through the ECINET app or the voters.eci.gov.in portal, or offline through Booth Level Officers and the concerned electoral registration authorities.