Congress says bulk applications to delete voter names are being processed in Uttarakhand

Image used for representational purposes only. | Photo Credit: Allen Egenuse J. UttarakhandCongress leaders have alleged that the Election Commission is accepting and processing unverified bulk applications to delete voters’ names during the claims and objections period of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists in the State.Also read | Uttarakhand begins pre-revision exercise to verify voters from 2003 rollsThe Congress submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission in Delhi on August 20, 2026, complaining that certain individuals have each submitted thousands of Form 7 applications. A party delegation subsequently met Uttarakhand’s Chief Electoral Officer B.V.R.C. Purushottam in Dehradun on August 21 to raise their concerns.Form 7 is filed to object to an existing name on the electoral rolls or to request the deletion of a name due to reasons such as death, migration, or ineligibility. The booth-level officer (BLO) or the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) has to conduct an inquiry into each Form 7 application and issue a notice to the voter before taking any action.‘Institutional access’As The Hindu had earlier reported, such cases of bulk Form 7 submissions had previously surfaced in States such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and Assam. Most of the people in whose names the forms had been filed had denied that they had anything to do with them.Congress leader Qazi Muhammed Nizamuddin, who represents the Manglaur constituency in the Uttarakhand Assembly, was part of the delegation to the ECI. The MLA alleged that the manner in which the bulk forms were submitted online pointed to “institutional” access being granted to some organisation.The Uttarakhand CEO Mr. Purushottam told The Hindu that he would look into all such allegations of bulk Form 7 submissions in the State.Mandatory reviewWhile booth-level agents of political parties are allowed to file up to 10 Form 7s a day, with a total of 30, there is no limit on how many such forms an individual can submit.However, ECI sources said that, to prevent misuse of the process, if a person files more than five objections, it will trigger a mandatory review by the ERO to ensure the legitimacy of the claims.The Congress memorandum claimed that several Form 7 objections in Uttarakhand have been filed by people who are not electors from, or in any other way connected with, the concerned Assembly Constituency.It added that, according to the rules, the ERO has to conduct a summary inquiry and record a decision, with both the objector and the person objected to entitled to appear and be heard. However, in practice, this dual-notice requirement is not being observed, and in most cases, the objector is not present in the hearings, the memorandum said.One man files thousands of objectionsAccording to a Congress analysis of Form-10 data (the register of claims and objections) issued by the office of the Uttarakhand CEO for all Assembly constituencies, from the date of voter list draft publication up to August 6, a total of 262 individual objectors have each filed more than 10 Form 7 objections; between them, these 262 people alone have lodged several thousand objections seeking the deletion of electors.The party offered the example of Kichha Assembly constituency in Udham Singh Nagar district where one individual, Rajesh Tiwari, is stated to have submitted approximately 6,410 objections.The Congress letter also said that unannounced exercises have restarted to identify demographically or photo similar entries, proposing the deletion of 102,793 electors in Udham Singh Nagar district alone, without any proper written guidelines or due notice.The draft electoral rolls of the State were published on July 14, with the final list scheduled to be released on September 15. The claims and objections period was open till August 13, and the disposal of notices will take place till September 11. Published - August 22, 2026 11:04 pm IST