Expelled BJP leader booked over alleged voter deletions in Karnataka

A vegetable vendor in Vijayapura, Karnataka, learned that his name had been listed as dead and a death certificate was used to strike him from the electoral roll. He reported that at least seven additional voters were similarly misidentified as deceased, based on paperwork submitted by expelled BJP leader and former minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. Police have booked Yatnal and two other individuals in connection with the alleged falsification, constituting the ninth case of suspected voter deletions in the state.

The accusations involve a list of over a thousand voters that Yatnal submitted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, with at least eight names marked as dead. Verification found that the death certificates did not match the living individuals’ details, prompting public protests by affected voters. The Karnataka home minister warned that false Form 7 submissions could lead to imprisonment, and the Election Commission has instructed officials to pursue legal action against such fraudulent applications.