Gandhinagar: Amid allegations from opposition Congress party that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is shirking from its responsibility to protect citizens’ voting rights, the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO), said on Thursday that until Jan 28, 6,88,116 Form 6 and 6A were filled for adding names to the electoral roll, and 9,88,621 Form 7 were filled for name deletions.Members of the state unit of the Congress party met chief electoral officer Hareet Shukla in Gandhinagar on Thursday and demanded that criminal proceedings be initiated against those who submitted Form 7 (objection to including a voter’s name) during the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll mischievously without any evidence.Congress members, led by state party president Amit Chavda, raised the issue of Form 7 being filled out for the deletion of the names of Padma Shri awardees Shahbuddin Rathod and Haji Ramakdu from the electoral roll. Party leaders said that Form 7 was also filled out for the deletion of the name of Sirajuddin Kazi, a former state minister, from the electoral roll.“It is seen that, deliberately, none of your electoral registration officers is following Rule 15(1)(b), where it is mandatory to exhibit the list of every objection filed,” the memorandum said. Speaking to reporters after submitting the memorandum, Chavda said, “Form 7 is being misused as part of a conspiracy to deprive people of their voting right.” The ECI has extended the timeline for submitting objections or claims regarding the inclusion or exclusion of names in the electoral roll until Jan 30.“Election officials will verify the validity of objections and proceed with their resolution,” the statement from the office of the CEO said. According to instructions from the ECI, the enumeration phase of the SIR campaign began across the state on Oct 27, 2025, and the draft electoral roll was published on Dec 19. The verification phase of the SIR was extended until Jan 30.
