Published Oct 01, 2026 | 6:39 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 01, 2026 | 6:39 PM
Under Election Commission norms, the person seeking deletion must substantiate the reason.
Synopsis: The Congress said in a letter that several pre-printed Form-7 applications have been circulated widely against Congress leaders, their families, party voters, and supporters in connection with SIR-related processes. The party alleged these may have been routed through party channels and local BLAs to booth-level officers. The Congress party said it was not asking the Commission to presume the allegations true, but only to establish the facts.
The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) on Thursday, 1 October, wrote to Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharshan Reddy, alleging that a BJP booth-level agent (BLA) in Hyderabad’s Musheerabad constituency filed Form 7 applications seeking to remove about 30 members of a Muslim family from the electoral rolls.
In the complaint, Pulipati Rajesh Kumar, chairman of the party’s Election Commission Coordination Committee, and member Mohd Wajid Hussain named S Balachander, also known as Balu, the BJP BLA for Polling Booth No. 210. The applications reportedly target Congress BLA Shafiuddin and his family.
Form 7 is used to object to a voter’s inclusion in the roll or to seek deletion of an entry. The party said that this raises several questions about who supplied the forms and the voter details in them, and whether the persons shown as applicants knew about the filings or consented to them.
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The party noted that under Election Commission norms, the person seeking deletion must substantiate the reason. A knowingly false declaration is punishable under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
The letter also alleged that several pre-printed Form-7 applications have been circulated widely against Congress leaders, their families, party voters, and supporters in connection with SIR-related processes. The party alleged these may have been routed through party channels and local BLAs to booth-level officers. The Congress party said it was not asking the Commission to presume the allegations true, but only to establish the facts.
Also Read: BJP targets Muslim voters for deletion from an Odisha constituency
The Congress sought an independent enquiry, preservation of the original forms, and individual statements from the named applicants to verify if they had submitted the forms. It also asked for a forensic examination of the forms to check for a common source, and a wider probe across Musheerabad and other constituencies across Telangana.
The party demanded identification of the forms’ origin and whether any person, organisation, or political party was responsible. It also asked for further examination to establish if the BLO Balachander personally submitted them.
The letter demanded an assurance from the CEO that no genuine voter is deleted without verification, notice and a chance to respond. It further demanded legal and criminal action against Balachander and anyone else found responsible, along with a written report on the action taken. The party said it is ready to hand over copies of the disputed forms and other evidence.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
