Owaisi Warns of Massive Protests Over Alleged Misuse of Form 7 in Telangana

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has raised strong objections over the alleged misuse of Form 7 applications during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Telangana.

Owaisi alleged that BJP and Sangh Parivar-linked individuals were attempting to use Form 7 applications to seek deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls. These allegations have been made by political parties and are subject to verification by election authorities.

Owaisi urged the Election Commission of India, Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharshan Reddy and district election officials to scrutinise every Form 7 application seeking deletion of a voter’s name and verify the identity of the person who submitted it.

The controversy gained momentum after the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee alleged that pre-printed Form 7 applications were submitted in Musheerabad Assembly constituency seeking deletion of the names of Congress booth-level agent Shafuddin and around 30 members of his family. The Congress lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer and sought an inquiry into the preparation and submission of the applications.

Similar allegations have since emerged from Bahadurpura and Goshamahal constituencies. In Bahadurpura, a pre-printed Form 7 was reportedly found with the voter’s name and address already filled in, while details of the person filing the application were left blank. In Goshamahal, a Booth Level Officer reportedly refused to accept several pre-printed applications submitted during the SIR process. Election authorities are examining the complaints.

Owaisi specifically questioned the use of pre-printed applications in which the details of the voter whose name was sought to be deleted were already filled in, while the identity and details of the applicant were allegedly missing. He said that if such applications were being submitted, the Election Commission should take note of the issue and investigate how they were prepared and submitted.

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“If false Form 7s are being filed, we appeal to the Election Commission to take action against those responsible,” Owaisi said. He warned that if the alleged practice was not stopped, large-scale protests could take place on the roads and streets of Hyderabad. He said the protests could be bigger than demonstrations witnessed at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and asserted that AIMIM would not remain silent on the issue.

Form 7 is used to object to the inclusion of a name in an electoral roll or seek deletion of an existing entry on specified grounds. However, filing a Form 7 does not automatically result in deletion of a voter’s name. The application has to be examined by the Electoral Registration Officer, who is responsible for taking a decision after verification and following the prescribed procedure.

The issue has emerged amid a significant number of Form 7 applications being filed during Telangana’s ongoing SIR. According to Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharshan Reddy, 28,753 Form 7 applications had been received in the State, including around 5,000 from Hyderabad. It is not yet clear how many of these applications were pre-printed or whether any were found to have violated election procedures.

The allegations have intensified the political debate over voter-roll verification in Telangana. Congress and AIMIM leaders have called for closer scrutiny of Form 7 applications and verification of applicants, while election authorities are required to examine each objection according to the prescribed rules before taking any decision on deletion.