Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Oct 10: A total of 1,10,654 Form 7 applications have been received in Karnataka under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, seeking objections to the inclusion of names or deletion of existing entries, the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO) said on Friday.
According to a statement quoting chief electoral officer V Anbukumar, Karnataka had 4,51,61,393 voters as of October 9. Of these, 2,24,03,422 were men, 2,27,55,113 were women and 2,858 were third-gender voters.
A total of 43,82,315 notices were prepared as part of the electoral roll revision process, of which 43,73,745 had been served, taking the notice distribution rate to 99.80%.
Of the notices served, 40,88,099 hearings had been completed, accounting for 93.47% of the total. Another 2,85,646 hearings remained pending, the CEO's office said.
October 22 is the deadline for completing the notice-related process and disposing of claims and objections. The final electoral roll will be published on October 27, while the last hearing is scheduled for October 12.
Between June 16 and October 8, Karnataka received a total of 23,02,215 applications for various purposes related to electoral rolls. These included 9,52,497 Form 6 applications, 4,712 Form 6A applications, 1,10,654 Form 7 applications and 12,34,352 Form 8 applications.
Form 6 is used to apply for the inclusion of a name in the electoral roll, including by first-time eligible voters. Form 6A is meant for Indian citizens residing abroad who wish to register as voters.
Form 7 is used to object to the inclusion of a name or seek the deletion of an existing entry. Form 8 can be used to request corrections to electoral roll details, a change of address or a replacement of the elector photo identity card (EPIC).
The constituency-wise details of claims and objections received through Forms 9, 10, 11, 11A and 11B have been published on the Election Commission's website for public information, the CEO's office said.
District election officers, additional district election officers and electoral registration officers have been directed to take action against those submitting false claims or objections through Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8.
In a letter to election officials dated October 1, Anbukumar had noted that a large number of Form 7 applications were being submitted before electoral registration officers. Allegations had also been raised that some of these applications were not genuine.
The letter directed officials to initiate legal action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, if an investigation establishes that an applicant had knowingly made a false statement or declaration. However, an inquiry must first be conducted under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, it stated.
Election officials have been instructed to take necessary measures to prevent the misuse of Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8 during the electoral roll revision process.
As per the Election Commission's schedule, the final electoral roll for Karnataka will be published on October 27.