Opposition urges EC to prevent misuse of Form 7 in Assam’s Special Revision drive

Opposition parties in Assam on January 23 urged the Election Commission of India to ensure that Form 7 is not misused to delete the names of eligible voters during the ongoing Special Revision of electoral rolls.

According to opposition leaders, Form 7, which is meant for deletion of names from the voters’ list on specific grounds, has allegedly been used by BJP agents to target genuine voters, particularly from minority communities. They claimed that numerous complaints have been filed citing improper deletions and objections.

In a joint statement, Left parties including CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML) alleged that applications using Form 7 were submitted in bulk against hundreds of voters based on single complaints, with several cases where the same complainant sought deletion of multiple names. They further alleged that even living voters were attempted to be struck off by falsely declaring them “dead.”

The opposition maintained that under the rules, Form 7 can be used to request deletion of one’s own name on grounds such as permanent migration, death, duplicate enrolment or non-citizenship, and similarly, objections against others can only be filed on the same limited grounds. They alleged that these provisions were being misused during the special revision process.

The parties also expressed concern over the limited time frame of the Special Revision and urged the Election Commission to extend the deadline to ensure that all genuine voters get an opportunity to be heard. They claimed that many of those against whom objections have been filed are poor and marginalised, lacking the resources to attend hearings at designated offices within the stipulated time.

Raising similar concerns, Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev said that Form 7 objections are being filed in bulk, often with incomplete or inaccurate details. She cited instances from Boko-Chhaygaon Assembly segment in Kamrup district, where a local BJP booth-level agent allegedly filed 22 Form 7 objections against multiple voters.

Quoting data from the Assam Chief Electoral Officer’s office, she said that over 15,000 objections have been received under the Special Revision across the state, including 10,249 in Barak Valley, 10,151 in Hajo-Sualkuchi, and 8,601 in Mangaldoi Assembly segments.

The opposition parties demanded strict action against those found misusing Form 7 and called for safeguards to ensure that no eligible voter is disenfranchised. They also urged the Election Commission to include names already present in the updated National Register of Citizens in the final electoral rolls.

The Election Commission has not yet issued a detailed response to the allegations. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on February 10.