SIR: Telangana poll chief orders action against persons misusing Form 7 to delete eligible voters

The Telangana chief electoral officer on Monday directed officials to take action against persons misusing Form 7 to seek the deletion of eligible voters from electoral rolls during the special intensive revision in the Congress-ruled state, The Indian Express reported.

Form 7 is used to object to the inclusion of a name or seek the deletion of an existing name from the electoral roll.

The order came after the Telangana Congress’ electoral office registered a complaint with the Hyderabad Police alleging that certain booth-level agents were filing bulk Form 7 applications to seek the deletion of eligible voters.

Similar allegations have been made in other states where the voter roll revision is underway.

In his order on Monday, Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharshan Reddy said that it had come to his notice that “there have been instances of filing bulk applications in Form 7 before the [electoral registration officers] and it is also alleged that such forms are not genuine”.

He also asked officials to take action against applicants who knowingly make false statements or declarations in Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8.

Form 6 is used by new voters to apply for inclusion in the electoral roll, while Form 6A is used by overseas Indian voters for the same. Form 8 is used to request corrections, change...

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