Election Officials Deny Bulk Form-7 Submissions in Hyderabad

Telangana election officials have rejected Form-7 applications submitted in Goshamahal and Musheerabad constituencies during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, citing irregularities in the applications. Officials also clarified that the forms were not submitted in bulk as alleged by some political parties.

Form-7 is used to raise objections to the inclusion or deletion of names from an existing electoral roll. Allegations of large-scale submission of such applications in Goshamahal and Musheerabad had triggered a political controversy, with the Congress and AIMIM accusing the BJP of attempting to target certain voters.

However, R.V. Karnan, GHMC Commissioner and Hyderabad District Election Officer, said the applications received in the two constituencies were limited in number and did not amount to bulk submissions.

Karnan said the Form-7 applications received from Goshamahal did not carry the applicants’ signatures and were therefore not considered eligible for further scrutiny. In Musheerabad, an individual named Balachander had submitted applications seeking objections against the electoral entries of 30 voters.

Officials subsequently conducted verification and found that all 30 voters were residing at the addresses recorded in the electoral rolls, according to Karnan.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that BJP workers were using Form-7 applications to seek the deletion of Muslim voters’ names during the SIR exercise. He warned that his party would organise a larger protest than the demonstrations held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

The Telangana Congress separately complained to Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy, alleging that Balachander was associated with the BJP. The party claimed that the applications represented an attempt to remove genuine voters from the rolls and sought legal action.

The Telangana BJP rejected the allegations. State president N. Ramachander Rao said none of the party’s Booth Level Agents had submitted such applications. He maintained that voter deletions would be considered only after proper field-level verification by election authorities.

According to figures released by Sudharshan Reddy on October 1, around 29,000 Form-7 applications had been received statewide under the SIR exercise, while 4.43 lakh Form-6 applications seeking voter registration had been submitted.

He clarified that Form-7 applications must be filed individually and that bulk submissions made in the name of political parties would undergo detailed verification.

Meanwhile, of the 92 lakh voters who received SIR notices, around 63 lakh have so far been found eligible to remain on the electoral rolls. Verification of the remaining voters is continuing. The SIR process began with the publication of the draft electoral rolls on August 17, with claims and objections scheduled to be processed until November 5.