Hyderabad Police booked BJP booth-level agent S. Balachander for submitting 30 pre-printed Form 7 applications on 28 September. These forms sought to delete voters in the Musheerabad constituency. Officials found all 30 voters lived at their addresses. Telangana received 28,753 Form 7 applications, and authorities are now scrutinising these requests closely.
Hyderabad Police book BJP BLA S. Balachander for allegedly submitting 30 pre-printed Form 7 applications seeking voter deletions
Election officials are scrutinising similar applications in Hyderabad amid allegations of targeted voter deletions
Telangana received 28,753 Form 7 applications; claims and objections close on 7 October, with final rolls due 9 November
Election authorities in Telangana have intensified scrutiny of applications seeking deletion of voters from electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), after Hyderabad Police registered a case against a BJP booth-level agent for allegedly submitting 30 pre-printed Form 7 applications.
The case against S. Balachander, a BJP booth-level agent in the Musheerabad Assembly constituency, followed a complaint by the constituency's electoral registration officer (ERO), T Praveen Kumar Reddy. Police registered the case under Sections 217 and 318(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
According to the complaint, Balachander brought 30 digitally pre-printed Form 7 applications to Polling Station No. 210 on 28 September. The forms sought deletion of the names of 30 electors, including a Congress booth-level agent and members of his family. Balachander had signed the applications and attempted to submit them to the booth level officer (BLO).
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The case is the first FIR reported in Telangana over alleged misuse of Form 7 during the current SIR exercise. Form 7 is used to object to the inclusion of a name or seek deletion of an existing entry from the electoral roll, subject to verification by election authorities.
The development follows Telangana chief electoral officer C. Sudharshan Reddy's direction to district election officials to take action against applicants found to have knowingly submitted false statements or declarations in Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8.
The CEO directed officials to conduct the prescribed inquiry under the Registration of Electors Rules before initiating action. Election authorities have also stressed that filing a Form 7 application does not by itself result in deletion of a voter's name; claims are subject to scrutiny and verification.
The controversy has also spread to Bahadurpura and Goshamahal constituencies in Hyderabad, where similar pre-printed Form 7 applications have been reported. In Goshamahal, a BLO reportedly refused to accept a bulk submission after finding procedural irregularities.
The Telangana Congress has alleged that pre-printed Form 7 applications were being used in an organised attempt to remove eligible voters from the rolls and has sought criminal investigations into the matter. The BJP has rejected allegations of a party-led voter deletion drive.
AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has separately complained to the Telangana CEO over alleged misuse of Form 7 in Goshamahal. He alleged that 122 applications were submitted at one polling station with voter details pre-printed on the forms and argued that Muslim voters were being specifically targeted. These are allegations that remain under investigation.
The issue comes amid a large volume of Form 7 applications filed during the SIR exercise. Telangana election officials reported 28,753 Form 7 applications statewide, with around 5,000 from Hyderabad, as of the latest reported count.
The claims and objections phase of the SIR is scheduled to conclude on 7 October, with disposal of claims and objections due by 5 November. The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on 9 November.
With IANS inputs
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