Voter Deletions or Data Dump? Congress Alleges Systematic Abuse of Form-7 in Assam

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President and Lok Sabha MP from Jorhat, Gaurav Gogoi, has raised serious concerns over alleged large-scale irregularities in the submission of Form-7 applications during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being carried out in various States and Union Territories.

In a formal representation addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Assam, Gogoi flagged what he described as a disturbing trend of bulk submission of Form-7 applications—used for objections and deletion of voters’ names—without valid reasons or mandatory particulars.

While the SIR is being undertaken across multiple States and UTs, Gogoi stated that several thousand Form-7 applications have reportedly been submitted in bulk to DEOs, SDMs, EROs and BLOs under the Assam CEO’s jurisdiction, raising fears of possible mass disenfranchisement of genuine voters.

According to the letter, most of these Form-7 applications were pre-printed with typed details of electors, while information related to objectors was illegible or missing. It was alleged that many such forms lacked identity proof of the objector, mobile contact details, specific grounds for objection, and mandatory undertakings by authorised Booth Level Agents (BLA2), in violation of Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines.

Gogoi stated that local-level inquiries and physical verification of district election offices revealed that a large number of these incomplete forms were allegedly submitted in bulk by unverified individuals and accepted by officials concerned.

Citing recent media reports, the APCC President apprehended that certain political entities may have issued directions to submit a fixed number of Form-7 applications per polling booth. He warned that such an exercise could be aimed at deliberately overburdening the electoral machinery with unverified objections, thereby frustrating the objective of the SIR process, which is to prepare a clean, accurate and inclusive electoral roll.

The letter also expressed concern that such bulk objections could disproportionately affect particular communities, raising fears of selective targeting.

Despite district-level APCC office bearers meeting District Election Officers (DEOs) and flagging the issue, Gogoi stated that no effective corrective action has been initiated so far.

In his representation, Gogoi reminded the CEO that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are custodians of the electoral roll, with appeals against their decisions lying first with the DEO and subsequently with the CEO’s office.

He urged the Assam CEO to issue directions for strict scrutiny of all Form-6 (inclusion), Form-7 (objection/deletion) and Form-8 (correction) applications, including verification of BLA2 signatures against official records and confirmation of the identity and contact details of objectors.

Gogoi further sought assurance that no voter’s name would be deleted without due process of law, including prior notice and an opportunity of hearing to the concerned elector. He also demanded an immediate inquiry into the acceptance of thousands of incomplete Form-7 applications.

Additionally, the APCC President called for the immediate publication of compiled lists of all Form-6, Form-7 and Form-8 applications on the websites of the CEO and DEOs, and their supply to authorised representatives of recognised political parties, as mandated by ECI guidelines.

Reiterating his commitment to democratic principles, Gogoi said the measures were essential to prevent the disenfranchisement of genuine voters and to uphold the sanctity of the electoral process.

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