‘Lots of questions’: Salman Khurshid flags concerns over Form 6, 7 and 8

Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on October 2 raised questions over changes made to voter-registration Form 6 and the handling of Forms 7 and 8, saying doubts remained over how applications affected by the changes would now be treated.

Speaking in Guwahati, Khurshid said there had been changes to Form 6 that, according to him, were not properly authenticated or supported by the Election Commission.

“Now we are told that they have gone back to the original Form 6,” Khurshid said.

He questioned whether applicants who were excluded under the modified version of the form would get an opportunity to have their applications reconsidered following the return to the original format.

“Some people excluded on the modified Form 6 still don't know whether returning to the original Form 6 will give them a chance to have their applications looked at afresh,” he said.

Khurshid also flagged what he described as “lots of questions” surrounding Forms 6, 7 and 8, and linked the issue to the decision-making process within the poll panel.

“Ultimately, these questions are based on how the decision-making has happened. If the decision-making is flawed, then all this will have to go,” he said.

The Election Commission recently removed an additional Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-linked declaration from online Form 6 in states where the revision exercise had been completed. The Commission said the statutory Form 6 itself had not been legally changed and that the additional declaration was linked to the SIR process.

Form 6 is used for inclusion of names in the electoral roll, while Form 7 is used for objections to proposed inclusion and deletion-related applications, and Form 8 for correction or updating of electoral-roll details.