Subhan Khan, a BJP worker at the sleepy village of Janpaliya in Barmer district in Rajasthan, was stunned when his Booth Level Officer informed him that an application had been filed seeking the deletion of his name from the State’s electoral rolls through Form 7. Even more surprisingly, the form was submitted in his name.
Hundreds of such forms have surfaced in this village as well as certain other villages of this district. While booth-level agents of the BJP in whose names these forms had been filed denied signing them, many said the forms had created a furore in the villages, and worried voters had sought answers from them.
“How can I file an application for deletion of my name when I am very much alive and residing in this place?” a bemused Mr. Khan asked this reporter, sitting outside his tiny grocery shop in the village barely 111 km from the Indo-Pakistan border. As a BLA himself, he has been keeping tabs on duplicate entries and deceased and shifted voters in his booth after the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise got under way in October.
His BLO Rukhmana Ram said he has more than 105 such Form 7 applications lying with him, but clarified that no further action had been taken as many people denied signing them and most voters whose names were sought to be deleted under the “shifted” category had been residing in the villages for generations. He had collected the applications from a room in the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) office after he was intimated through a local WhatsApp group of BLOs.
Mr. Ram is a teacher at the Government Senior Secondary School in Janpaliya which hosts two polling booths of the village. Janpaliya is a part of the Chohtan Assembly constituency of Barmer district.
The other BLO, Fakruddin, says he has 87 Form 7 applications with him for deletion of names. All forms have been filed in the names of Mr. Khan and Krishna Ram, the two BJP BLAs of the village. According to EC rules, one BLA can only file up to 10 Form 7 a day.
While a BLA is a political party representative for each booth, a BLO — usually a school teacher — is appointed by the EC for poll-related work and maintaining voter lists. Form 7 is filed to object to an existing name on the electoral rolls or to request the deletion of a name due to reasons such as death, shifting, or ineligibility. The BLO or the Electoral Registration Officer has to conduct an inquiry on the application and issue a notice to the voter before taking any action.
Both Mr. Khan and Mr. Krishna Ram denied filing the forms at all. According to Mr. Fakruddin, on the evening of January 15, there was an update on the BLOs’ WhatsApp group that Form 7s were lying at the SDM office and all BLOs should collect and process them.
It is a similar story in many neighbouring villages. Hundreds of Form 7s have been filed in the name of BJP BLAs who claim they never signed or filed them. A host of BLOs The Hindu spoke with said they were intimated through the WhatsApp groups and went to pick up the applications from the SDM office.
What is unclear though is how the forms landed in the SDM office.
When contacted, SDM Badri Narayan Vishnoi, who is also the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) for Sedwa Tehsil under which the village falls, said Form 7s were filed by political parties and he was not aware of how they reached his office.
He declined to comment when told that the BLAs had denied signing the forms submitted in their name. The office of Rajasthan’s Chief Electoral Officer in a response said action would be taken as per EC guidelines.
The SIR process began in Rajasthan on October 27 as part of the second phase of the massive exercise. After the publication of the draft list, the claims and objections period began on December 16 and was scheduled to end on January 15. However, it was extended by four days till January 19.
Outrage in villages
Meanwhile, the “fake” Form 7 applications created a furore in the local community. The BLAs who spoke with The Hindu said that they were being viewed with suspicion within the community since the forms surfaced.
“For nearly a week since January 15, there was a lot of outrage among people. They were constantly questioning us as to how we could fill these forms seeking deletion of their names. They calmed down only when we explained that these were fake and we had nothing to do with them,” says Aasu Lal, a BJP BLA from Harpaliya village.
He said around 500 voters whose names were sought to be deleted visited the SDM office on January 19 and submitted representations demanding an inquiry into the entire episode. However, despite assurances, no such inquiry had been ordered. He also added that the SDM did not meet them and they submitted their representation to junior officials.
Sachchu Khan, husband of Harpaliya village sarpanch Sati Bai, said: “We have submitted a memorandum seeking an inquiry to the SDM as well as to Tina Dabi, the District Magistrate of Barmer and the Deputy Electoral Officer. Both of them had assured an inquiry”.
Apart from Janpaliya and Harpaliya, such “fake” Form 7 in bulk have emerged in nearby villages of Jalila, Bisaser and Jharpa as well, Mr. Khan said. The Hindu has accessed some of these forms.
While the space for the applicant name in these forms is hand-filled, the details of the voter to be deleted is typed. The Form 7 also includes a declaration by the applicant that the information furnished by him is correct.
Meanwhile, voters in the villages are worried a lot. Despite assurances from the BLOs and BJP BLAs, they still believe their names can be deleted.
As one walks down a dusty road in Janpaliya, Kaji, a farmer who also drives a passenger van ferrying people to and from neighbouring villages, informs us that a Form 7 had been filed for deleting the name of his wife Ajimat who had delivered a baby last week. He shows her government maternity card as well as Aadhaar card as proof of existence and identity. The Form 7 had said she had “shifted”.
At a small crossing in the village square, Sumar Khan, Hussain Khan, Umaidi and Jamil all converge to discuss how the administration is yet to take any action in the matter despite their representations. They also claimed that only voters of a particular community were targeted.
Published – February 02, 2026 10:42 pm IST
