Karnataka Congress MLA Files Complaint With ECI Alleging 'Deliberate' Deletion Of Names From Electoral Roll

Congress MLA Priyank Kharge has filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India regarding the "anonymous, deliberate, illegal and ommission" of voters in the electoral roll in Alanda in Kalaburagi District of Karnataka. 

In a letter addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner, the MLA said that, "These requests for deletion from the voters list is being done in an extremely organised way using different alibis and using mobile numbers registered in different parts of the country." It also noted that "miscreants" are misusing the options provided by the Election Commission and are "systematically ensuring the deletion of voters who are likely to vote for the Indian National Congress in the upcoming state elections".

The letter was retweeted by Lavanya Ballal Jain, Spokespeson for INC, Karnataka.

Around 150 voters of Alanda have filed a written complaint with the Tehsildar/Assistant Returning Officer of Alanda regarding the deletion of their names from the voters list, the letter said, noting specific names of those people who have not asked for deletion but their name was listed for deletion to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). "It is clear from the complaint to the Tehsildar that the genuine voters who have been illegally removed from the electoral roll are permanent residents of the same village and have not filed any application for either correction of address or deletion of their names from the voter list," the letter added.

The MLA also referred to the voter data theft case recently wherein the Bangalore NGO Chilume Trust impersonated BBMP officials and collected personal information from thousands of voters under the garb of spreading awareness. "...Similar irregularities are being noticed in many assembly constitutencies of Karnataka. This too seems to be a part of a broader conspiracy of the ruling party to dissuade our voters," the letter further read.

The MLA has demanded a thorough investigation on this matter and a verification of if such incidents have occured in other assembly constituencies of the state.