Form 7 was 'misused' by BJP to delete voters 'en masse' ahead of 2023 polls: Priyank Kharge

Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday alleged that Form 7 was misused under the previous BJP government to delete voters "en masse", ahead of May 2023 Assembly polls.

His remarks followed claims by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who cited Karnataka's example, that votes of party supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.

Form 7 is an application for objecting inclusion of the name of the other person, or seeking deletion of one's own name, or seeking deletion of any other person’s name in the electoral roll due to death or shifting.

Earlier in the day, addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting "vote chors" and people who have destroyed democracy, and cited data from Karnataka's Aland Assembly constituency to support his claim that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.

In Aland segment, someone tried to delete 6,018 votes and got caught by coincidence, he said, alleging that the names of voters of the Congress were being deleted systematically.

Kharge said, "The Vote Chori trail in Aland (in Kalaburagi district) is a shocking case of large-scale voter deletion. Ahead of the May 2023 Assembly election, Form 7 was misused under the BJP government to delete voters en masse."

The #VoteChori trail in Aland is a shocking case of large-scale voter deletion. Ahead of the May 2023 Assembly election, Form 7 was misused under the BJP government to delete voters en masse.

- A total of 6,018 deletions were attempted using automated software and fake logins.… pic.twitter.com/l8rA0GutzP

— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) September 18, 2025

In a post on X, he claimed that a total of 6,018 deletions were attempted using automated software and fake logins.

He said, "Verification showed 5,994 were forged, only 24 genuine. 2,494 voters were actually deleted before the fraud was caught. Strong Congress booths, especially with Dalit and minority voters, were targeted."

In one instance, 12 voters were deleted in just 14 minutes, pointing to a "sophisticated vote chori factory", Kharge said.

In another case, the identity of a 63-year-old woman was misused to delete 12 voters.

Noting that the Karnataka CID, which is investigating the case has sent 18 letters to the Election Commission of India seeking IP logs, OTP trails, device IDs, and login details, he alleged that the EC has refused to share the critical data.

The Minister said this raises serious questions. "Who approved these deletion records? Where is the OTP audit trail? When will deleted voters be restored? Why is ECI refusing to cooperate with CID? Who is the ECI trying to protect?" "When the fraud is this clear, what more evidence is the ECI waiting for? Whom are they shielding?" he asked.