NDA seeks Governor’s intervention over SIR cases

CH NEWS BENGALURU An NDA delegation comprising BJP and JD(S) leaders on Tuesday urged Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to intervene against what it termed “undue interference” by the state government in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The delegation, including Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, BJP leader R. Ashoka and MLC Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, met the Governor at Lok Bhavan and submitted a complaint. The leaders alleged that the Congress government and its members were influencing the SIR process and that the police machinery was being used to intimidate BJP workers and supporters who had filed objections through Form-7. “There is no bar on filing bulk objections through Form-7,” the delegation said, citing an Election Commission communique dated January 16, 2026, and the Manual on Electoral Rolls, 2023. The delegation claimed that criminal cases had been registered in Bhalki in Bidar, Market Area in Belagavi, Vyalikaval in Bengaluru, Ballari and Narasimharaja in Mysuru against people accused of filing fake Form-7 objections. It said filing objections was a statutory right and that every Form-7 application was subject to scrutiny by the Electoral Registration Officer or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer, including an inquiry and hearing. The NDA leaders alleged that police were invoking serious offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including cheating, forgery and intimidation, instead of limiting action to provisions under election law. They also criticised the October 1 protest by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and ministers at the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, alleging it exerted pressure on the electoral machinery. The delegation sought directions to prevent “false and unwarranted” FIRs against individuals filing Form-7 objections and urged protection of the electoral roll revision process.