Bengaluru, September 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President B.K. Hariprasad on Thursday alleged that BJP MLA Abhay Patil had written to election authorities seeking deletion of around 2,500 voters from the electoral rolls in Belagavi, and claimed that the names largely belonged to members of the minority community.
Hariprasad displayed documents at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru that he said supported his allegations and demanded strict action against anyone found attempting to improperly remove voters from the rolls.
He alleged that applications had been filed under Form 7 seeking deletion of voter names, including cases in which applications reportedly targeted around 50 people living in a single house. Hariprasad claimed the Election Commission had told the concerned persons that names could not be deleted in the manner sought and that submission of bogus applications could attract legal action.
“We have been saying that voter fraud is taking place. The Election Commission has written a letter in this regard, saying that it cannot remove voters’ names in this manner,” he said.
Hariprasad demanded that those who submitted allegedly bogus Form 7 applications be arrested and prosecuted. He also claimed that applications had been submitted seeking deletion of around 7,000 names and alleged that some of the forms did not carry signatures.
He said the Congress would submit a complaint to the Election Commission over the matter.
The allegations have triggered a political dispute during Karnataka’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Election Commission’s published schedule shows Karnataka’s SIR has a qualifying date of October 1, 2026, with the draft roll published on August 5 and the claims and objections process running through October 3.
Hariprasad also alleged that the SIR exercise was being misused to affect the voting rights of genuine voters opposed to the BJP. He accused the BJP and RSS of attempting to remove such voters from electoral rolls and further alleged that the exercise was part of a wider effort involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. These claims were made by Hariprasad and were not independently established.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Abhay Patil rejected the allegations, saying his letter sought verification of a report submitted by a Booth Level Agent and that names should be deleted only if voters were found to be bogus after due verification.
Patil represents the Belagavi South Assembly constituency.
FOLLOW NOW
