The Congress government in Karnataka is likely to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe multiple FIRs registered in the state over the alleged bulk filing of Form 7 applications seeking deletion of voters from the draft electoral rolls published after the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR).Sources said the D K Shivakumar-led Congress government, over the past week, held consultations with senior police officials on whether the cases registered across several districts are interlinked or represent isolated instances.AdvertisementNine FIRs have so far been registered by election officials in Ballari, Bengaluru, Bidar, Belagavi, Chikamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru, Vijayapura and Udupi districts over alleged fake applications seeking bulk deletion of voters.Also Read | BJP, JD(S) defend bulk Form 7 filings, allege ‘false FIRs’ in Karnataka“If a large number of cases are registered by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), then a special investigation team is likely to be constituted to conduct a probe,” sources said.The move follows allegations by Shivakumar that the BJP had orchestrated a conspiracy to manipulate electoral rolls by filing large numbers of Form 7 applications.AdvertisementOn Tuesday, Shivakumar alleged that BJP workers had been provided pre-printed forms and asked to file applications seeking deletion of voters.“They have indulged in a conspiracy to delete votes. They have printed Form 7 applications in bulk and complaints have been filed. The BJP workers have to say who told them to file the applications and who gave them the forms. This will need an investigation. It is a big criminal conspiracy in the history of India,” the CM said.According to Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukumar, a total of 91,278 Form 7 applications seeking deletion of voters had been received by September 24, the end of the claims and objections period following the SIR.No voter has been deleted on the basis of these applications so far, Anbukumar said. The EROs have been instructed to verify the identity and location of voters whose names have been proposed for deletion before taking any action.Following protests by Shivakumar, his Cabinet colleagues and senior Congress leaders, the Election Commission (EC) last week directed EROs to file complaints where they found fake applications seeking bulk deletions.Also Read | ‘Police stations have become Congress stations’: Karnataka BJP slams Form 7 FIRs‘BJP altering demography’The CM has alleged that the applications point to a larger attempt to manipulate electoral rolls and claimed that BJP leaders in Karnataka and Delhi were printing and distributing the forms to party workers.“The BJP leaders in Karnataka have stooped to a low level of politics. In a democracy they must fight elections and win a mandate. They should not indulge in vote manipulation by using the EC to change demographics of polling booths and deletion of votes of minorities, Scheduled Tribes (STs), Dalits, the backward and poor. This is shameful politics,” Shivakumar said.Sources said the CM was advised that police action would be legally sustainable only if the FIRs were registered on the complaints of election officials, as required under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.The preliminary findings in some of the FIRs, sources said, indicate that the Form 7 applications were generated through an automated system, raising suspicion of a coordinated attempt to seek deletion of voters in some constituencies.Also Read | FIR against 2 ‘BJP agents’ over Form 7s to delete 5,698 Bengaluru votersThe Aland caseThe government is also drawing parallels with the alleged voter-deletion operation in Aland constituency in Kalaburagi district, which is already being investigated by a CID SIT.The Aland case was registered in February 2023 after an ERO complained that attempts had been made to illegally delete the names of 5,994 voters from the constituency during 2022-2023. The investigation subsequently led to a chargesheet against former BJP MLA Subhash Guttedar and his associates.The alleged operation involved a data centre in Kalaburagi and the services of a youth from West Bengal who operated a website called OTPbazaar and allegedly provided OTP-bypass services. These services were allegedly used to access the EC’s online system and submit unauthorised requests for deletion of voter names.Following the investigation, the EC plugged the loophole in its online OTP authentication system.The Aland case is currently at the pre-trial stage. Guttedar has recently sought discharge, arguing that there was no sufficient linkage between him and the alleged operation. The SIT has opposed the plea.Congress, BJP trade chargesShivakumar has alleged that the current exercise is part of a wider attempt to delete genuine voters from Karnataka’s electoral rolls.“Nearly one crore voters have already been removed from the draft roll, while 43 lakh notices were issued during the notice phase of the SIR,” he said, claiming that an attempt was now under way to delete another 15-16 lakh genuine voters.Congress leaders in constituencies where large numbers of Form 7 applications were filed have also alleged that voters from communities perceived to support the party were being targeted.Eshwar Khandre, Congress MLA from Bhalki and state Rural Development Minister, alleged that pre-printed Form 7 applications containing voters’ phone numbers and EPIC numbers had been generated in bulk.Also Read | Why are Form 7 applicants facing FIRs? BJP delegation meets DGP, seeks review“How have these Form 7 applications been generated in bulk? Each BJP worker who is an applicant is filing 100 to 200 Form 7 applications for deletion of names. In my constituency, 36 people have filed 3,200 fake applications,” Khandre said.The BJP and JD(S), however, have accused the Congress government of using the police to intimidate those filing objections.Leaders of the two parties have approached Governor Thawarchand Gehlot and the Karnataka CEO seeking protection for people who have filed Form 7 applications.In a memorandum, the BJP and JD(S) alleged that members of the ruling party were “misusing the state police machinery” by registering false criminal cases against people who had filed objections during the SIR exercise.Also Read | Karnataka SIR: Over 43.5 lakh notices delivered, 91,278 form 7 applications receivedThey also argued that there was no legal prohibition on filing Form 7 applications in bulk.“There exists a provision to file applications in bulk for identifying corrections to be carried out in the draft electoral rolls. Hence, there is no bar on filing bulk objections through Form 7 as per the communique issued by the EC dated January 16, 2026,” the memorandum stated.“There are no restrictions on the number of Form-7 applications that may be submitted to the ERO/AERO. Hence, no illegality is committed,” it added.The Karnataka CEO said that filing an application did not by itself result in deletion of a voter’s name.“The ERO will take action after enquiry. Action will be taken as per law. ERO has to take action at his level,” Anbukumar said.Meanwhile, Shivakumar and AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala held a video conference on Tuesday with state ministers, party MPs, MLAs and defeated candidates to discuss the SIR and what the party alleges is manipulation of electoral rolls.“The SIR issue is not just an issue of the Congress but an issue of the people of the country. (Leader of the Opposition) Rahul Gandhi is doing his job. They can stop him but not his voice,” Shivakumar said.