More than 15,600 applications were filed in bulk to delete voters from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision process in Gujarat’s Somnath assembly constituency in January, with a majority of the targeted voters reportedly belonging to the Muslim community, according to a report published by Newslaundry on February 11.
Election Commission of India data shows that the Somnath constituency has around 2.6 lakh voters. The seat witnessed a close contest in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections, where Congress candidate Vimalbhai Chudasma defeated BJP’s Mansingh Parmar by just 922 votes. Congress workers estimate that Muslims make up at least 50,000 voters in the constituency.
The report said that 15,663 Form 7 applications, which are used to seek deletion of names from voter lists, were submitted, and most of them were filed by only 269 individuals. Many of these applications targeted Muslim voters in towns and villages across the constituency.
Form 7 documents accessed by Newslaundry show that while voter details were digitally printed in English, the names and details of the objectors were handwritten in Gujarati. In one case, the objector’s name and EPIC number were handwritten, while the voter’s name, a Muslim woman, was printed in English, raising concerns about organised filing.
Despite Election Commission guidelines limiting bulk submissions, all 269 objectors reportedly filed more than 50 Form 7 applications each. Election rules restrict booth-level agents to submitting only 10 such forms per day, and large numbers require personal verification by electoral officials.
Some of the objectors were linked to the BJP, including local councillors and a women’s wing office bearer. Out of the 269 objectors, six people denied filing any such applications and later submitted affidavits stating that their names, phone numbers and EPIC details were misused.
“I don’t know who used my personal details to file these forms. I had no information about it,” said Dharmendra Amrutlal Kotecha, one of the six who claimed identity misuse.
Several Form 7 applications cited reasons such as “absent” or “permanently shifted,” which are valid grounds under election rules. However, some applications also listed “not an Indian citizen” as the reason, raising serious concerns among affected voters.
Somnath District Collector and District Electoral Officer V N Upadhyay told Newslaundry that multiple Assistant Electoral Registration Officers were deployed to verify the applications. “No voter’s name will be deleted randomly. Every objection will be verified through proper procedure,” he said.
In one instance, an objection was filed against voter Ibrahim Radiya claiming he was absent and not an Indian citizen. However, the person whose name appeared as the objector said he was unaware that more than 50 forms had been submitted in his name.
Local residents in areas such as Govindpara wrote to Booth Level Officers, urging them to reject the objections. Village elders said the targeted voters were genuine residents. A BLO, speaking anonymously, said he verified a list of Muslim voters in his booth and found all of them present. “No names will be deleted,” he said.
Election officials said filing false declarations is a criminal offence under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and can lead to jail time. An Election Commission source told Newslaundry that criminal cases should be filed where identity misuse is confirmed.
Gujarat is among 12 states and Union Territories where the Special Intensive Revision is underway. The final voter list is scheduled to be published on February 17.
