Political turmoil over investigation of 7,561 voters
Ballari. The political controversy regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list has intensified in Ballari, Karnataka. After registering an FIR against BJP’s booth level agent (BLA-1) and Ballari Municipal Corporation councilor Motkar Srinivas, the police has obtained a search warrant against him from the court. BJP has protested against this action of the police and alleged that its leaders and workers are being targeted under political pressure.
The dispute pertains to 7,561 voters of Ballari City Assembly constituency. Srinivas had demanded a re-verification of the eligibility of these voters before the election officials. On the other hand, Congress’s BLA-1 Gautam S. lodged a complaint, on the basis of which an FIR was registered at Brucepet police station on October 1. In the complaint, allegations have also been made against Srinivas along with the role of some election officials and others.
The biggest controversy in the matter is regarding the Form-7 applications used to remove names from the voter list. The complainant alleges that Form-7 applications related to the names of 7,561 voters were given. At the same time, BJP says that it did not demand removal of names of voters by targeting any community, but a letter was given to the election officials to verify the eligibility of the voters. The claims of both the parties are different and the investigation into the allegations made in the FIR is still going on.
After the FIR was registered, the police approached the court and obtained a search warrant against Motkar Srinivas. According to the report, on the basis of the warrant, the process of searching his office located at Talur Road was started. After this, BJP leaders expressed strong displeasure over the police action.
BJP leaders say that they are not afraid of search warrants. Party leaders alleged that the police were deliberately targeting BJP leaders and workers. BJP has warned that if its workers are harassed, the concerned police station along with the residence of the responsible officer will be gheraoed. This statement is a political claim and warning given by BJP leaders.
The party has also called for a massive protest in Ballari over the issue. The BJP plans to take out a protest march from Royal Circle and then protest in front of Brucepet and APMC police stations. The party is demanding action against the policemen involved in these cases.
On the other hand, Congress’ complaint has alleged that an attempt was made to remove a large number of names from the voter list. According to the complaint, Form-7 applications were submitted for thousands of voters of Ballari City Assembly constituency. It has also been alleged in the complaint that the prescribed procedure was not followed. However, the veracity of these allegations will be determined on the basis of police investigation and further legal process.
The political conflict in the matter has also increased because both the parties are making different claims regarding the list of 7,561 voters. The Congress side is linking it to an alleged attempt to delete voters’ names, while the BJP says it had only sought re-checking of eligibility and had no intention of targeting any particular community.
Only Motkar Srinivas is not named in the FIR. According to available reports, Ballari City Corporation Assistant Commissioner Nandish, BLO Sumalatha and Sharanabaswa, among others, have also been named in the case. Based on the complaint, the police is now investigating the entire incident and the process related to Form-7 applications.
The process of adding and removing names from the voter list is a sensitive part of the electoral system. Form-7 is used to raise objection to the inclusion of a name in the voter list or request for deletion of an existing name. In such cases, the claim is investigated by the election authorities as per the prescribed procedure and the party concerned gets an opportunity to present his views.
The Ballari dispute has now moved beyond an administrative process into a major political conflict. BJP is linking the police action to political pressure, while Congress has alleged irregularities in the voter list. At present, the final conclusion on the claims of both the parties cannot be drawn before the completion of the investigation.
Along with this case, controversies regarding SIR and Form-7 applications have also come to light in other districts of Karnataka. Cases have been registered at some places including Belagavi and Bidar for alleged attempts to remove names of voters. Due to this, the process of voter list revision in the state has come into the center of political debate.
Now it remains to be clear from the police investigation as to under what process the applications related to 7,561 voters were submitted, whether the rules were followed or not and what was the actual role of the people named in this case. On the other hand, after the search warrant, BJP has announced to intensify the movement. In such a situation, the controversy that started regarding SIR in Ballari may remain in discussion at political and legal level in the coming days also.