Published Oct 04, 2026 | 10:46 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 04, 2026 | 10:47 AM
BS Yediyurappa. Credit: x.com/BSYBJP
Former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa has warned of a statewide agitation if the police take legal action against party workers over filing bulk Form 7 applications to delete voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
According to ANI, a BJP delegation comprising Yediyurappa, state BJP president B Y Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, Council Opposition leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, MPs, MLAs and MLCs met Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) M.A Saleem and submitted a memorandum.
“No legal action should be taken against our workers under any circumstances. They should not be arrested, harassed or assaulted. If this continues, we will launch a statewide agitation,” Yediyurappa was quoted as saying by ANI.
Yediyurappa claimed police were acting at the behest of Chief Minister Shivakumar and said officers should act according to law rather than “work to please the government.”
Defending the filing of Form 7 applications, BJP leader Ashoka said, “Submitting Form 7 is not a crime. It is the Election Commission, not the police station, that has to determine the truth and validity of a voter.”
BJP’s protest call came after the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka (CEO) directed Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to take action against applicants who knowingly make false statements or declarations in Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8, following reports of bulk filing of Form 7 applications seeking to delete voters from minority communities during the SIR.
In a circular issued late on October 1, CEO V Anbukkumar directed the EROs of all 224 Assembly constituencies to act under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, against applicants who knowingly make false statements or declarations in writing. He said such action must be preceded by an inquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
The direction came hours after Chief Minister D.K Shivakumar led a sit-in at the State Election Commission office in Bengaluru and submitted a representation to Anbukkumar seeking an FIR and a time-bound investigation into the alleged bulk filings. He alleged that pre-printed Form 7 applications were being used to target eligible voters, particularly from minority, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class communities.
The State government is expected to have registered an FIR under Sections 217 (concerning false information given to a public servant with the intention of causing injury to another person) and 223 (concerning disobedience to an order promulgated by a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
