Assam Opposition Writes to Election Commission Over Alleged Misuse of Form 7

Opposition parties in Assam have written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) expressing concern over the alleged misuse of Form 7 during the ongoing Special Revision of electoral rolls, warning that genuine voters could be wrongfully removed from the voters’ list.
In their communication to the ECI, opposition leaders claimed that large numbers of Form 7 applications—used to seek deletion of names from the electoral roll—are being filed in bulk, often without the knowledge of the complainants named in the forms. They alleged that the practice could lead to the disenfranchisement of eligible voters, particularly from marginalised communities.
The opposition urged the poll body to put in place strict safeguards to ensure that no voter’s name is deleted without proper verification and due process. They also sought action against individuals found misusing the provision to raise frivolous or malicious objections.
Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev separately wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner, flagging concerns over the limited timeframe for hearings and disposal of objections. She requested an extension of deadlines to allow affected voters adequate opportunity to respond to objections filed against their names.
Opposition parties further argued that the ongoing revision exercise should take into account the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) to prevent the exclusion of voters whose citizenship status has already been verified.
Form 7 allows objections to be raised on grounds such as death, permanent migration, duplicate enrolment or non-citizenship. However, the opposition maintained that its alleged misuse undermines the transparency of the electoral process.
The Election Commission has not yet issued a detailed response to the allegations. The final electoral roll after the Special Revision exercise is scheduled to be published next month.