(We are able to ask tough questions to our electoral institutions because of our editorial independence. Become a member and help hold the authorities to account).India, the world's largest democracy, is in danger. Efforts are being made to take away the right to vote from people based on religion. This is being done in three ways and in several states across the country. Method 1: Form 7 To understand this, look at two reports by The Quint. According to a report by my colleague Himanshi Dahiya, an attempt was made to remove hundreds of Muslim voters from the voter list using Form 7 in Alwar, Rajasthan.Form 7 is the form through which you can raise questions about any voter. In Alwar, this form was used to target Muslim voters. It is said that most of the complaints were filed by people associated with the BJP.Similarly, a report by The Quint’s Eshwar states that in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, an anonymous envelope was sent to a BLO (Booth Level Officer), asking them to remove seven Muslim voters from the list. In Chandauli, six BLOs were given different forms to remove Muslim voters. Some of these forms turned out to be completely fake. The people whose names were used to fill out these forms told The Quint that they did not file any complaints.Such reports have also come from West Bengal, Gujarat, and Assam. The common points in all these reports are: efforts are being made to remove Muslim voters from the voter list, and forms are being filled out in a fraudulent manner.At least, thanks to the honesty of some BLOs and independent media reports, vote theft was prevented in these areas. But it is also possible that vote theft is still continuing in many places.The biggest question here, as clearly shown in the Alwar story, is that despite open attempts at vote theft, the Election Commission has shown no interest in investigating it.Scores of Muslims Were Almost Erased from Alwar Rolls. Why Is EC Avoiding Probe?Method 2: DelimitationDelimitation has been completed in two states: Assam and Jammu Kashmir. And in both places, different standards were used to change the boundaries of seats. In Jammu Kashmir, the argument of population was used to reduce the proportion of seats for the Muslim-majority Kashmir region and increase the proportion for the Hindu-majority Jammu region.For example, the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat was reduced in population, and Muslim-majority areas in Jammu were added, even though the entire Pir Panjal mountain range lies between these two regions.Now, let’s talk about Assam. Despite a higher population, the seats for Muslim-majority areas were reduced. When dividing the seats, all the rules of delimitation were thrown out the window. The basic principle of elections is that each voter’s vote is equal. The purpose of delimitation is to ensure that the number of voters in each seat is roughly equal.According to the population criteria, each Lok Sabha seat in Assam should have 17.5 lakh voters. But in the Muslim-majority Dhubri seat, around 10 lakh extra voters were added. This means that the value of a vote in Dhubri is less compared to the other seats in Assam. But the story doesn’t end here.The extra 10 lakh voters added to Dhubri previously belonged to the Barpeta seat. The strategy was to move the Muslim-majority areas of Barpeta into Dhubri, making Barpeta a Hindu-majority seat overnight.When the results came in, it was no surprise that for the first time, the NDA succeeded in winning this seat.So, let me reiterate this point.The argument of population was used to reduce the proportion of Kashmir’s seats. And similarly, in future delimitations, states like South India and Punjab, which have effectively implemented family planning, will also see a reduction in their seat proportion. But in Assam, the argument of population disappears, and the seats for Muslim-majority areas are reduced.'Found Envelope At My Door': BLOs Detail Attempts to Delete Muslim Votes in UPMethod 3: Voter SuppressionDuring the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, some Muslim voters from the Sambhal seat in Uttar Pradesh told The Quint that they had to face police brutality to cast their votes. Complaints also surfaced about polling booths being shut down for a few hours in some Muslim-majority areas.A few months later, in a by-election in the Kundarki Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh, allegations were made that voters in several Muslim-majority areas were either threatened or prevented from voting. According to a Scroll report, there was a decline in voter turnout at Muslim-majority booths.So, we have shown with facts that through these three methods, the right to vote is being taken away from many Muslim citizens, or the impact of their votes is being minimised. The biggest question now is: What is the Election Commission doing about this? We can only conclude that either the Election Commission is ineffective or is itself involved in this campaign.