Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukumar has directed electoral registration officers across all 224 assembly constituencies to initiate legal action against applicants who knowingly submit false declarations in electoral-roll applications, following Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s six-hour protest over alleged bulk attempts to delete eligible voters.
The directive invokes Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, but requires electoral officials to conduct an inquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 before taking action. The order applies to Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8, which are used for voter registration, overseas elector applications, objections or deletion requests, and changes to electoral-roll details.
Shivakumar ended his dharna at the Chief Electoral Officer’s office after the directive was issued. The protest began at about 2.45 pm and continued until around 9 pm, according to the report. Congress state unit president BK Hariprasad, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, and several legislators and MPs joined the chief minister. A scheduled Cabinet meeting was cancelled as the protest continued.
The immediate dispute concerns alleged mass filing of Form 7 applications during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Form 7 can be used to object to an elector’s inclusion or seek deletion of a name. Shivakumar alleged that preprinted forms containing voters’ names, addresses and Elector Photo Identity Card numbers had been filed in bulk between September 22 and 24 in Vijayapura, Bhalki, Belagavi, Mysuru, Mudigere and Bengaluru.
The chief minister claimed that as many as 50 lakh eligible voters had been targeted and alleged that minority, Dalit and backward-class voters were particularly vulnerable. These claims were not established in the CEO’s directive described in the report. Shivakumar also accused BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) functionaries of involvement and demanded that the Election Commission identify and prosecute those responsible. The allegations have been denied neither nor independently confirmed in the supplied report; they remain claims attributed to the chief minister.
Shivakumar cited several alleged instances of unusually large-scale submissions. He said some individuals had submitted 84, 92, 241 and 423 applications each. In Vijayapura City, he alleged that around 14,000 applications were filed by BJP workers and staff linked to a BJP legislator’s office. He further claimed that six people in Babaleshwar filed more than 1,600 applications before withdrawing them after officials warned of legal action, while 36 BJP workers in Bhalki allegedly filed 3,244 forms in one day.
The allegations have also moved into the police and complaints process. Shivakumar said affected voters had filed complaints and FIRs at several police stations, and that documents and videos relating to Mysuru, Belagavi and Bhalki had been submitted to the Election Commission. He alleged that an organised network had accessed voter data, but the supplied report does not establish how the data was obtained or whether the alleged network exists.
Before the order, Anbukumar had sought time until Friday to examine reports from deputy commissioners, who also function as district election officers, and decide on further action. Shivakumar said the state government would examine the legal basis for a police investigation. The next formal step is the inquiry by electoral authorities into applications that may contain knowingly false declarations, followed by any action supported by the findings.
