Bengaluru, Oct. 26 -- The filing of 61,059 Form 7 applications seeking removal of voters' names from electoral rolls in Karnataka without specifying reasons has raised questions over compliance with electoral rules, the handling of voter verification and safeguards against the wrongful removal of eligible voters.

The reported irregularities centre on applications filed by election officials that left the reason field blank, despite the requirement to specify grounds for the proposed removal of names under the prescribed procedure.

Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) reportedly said the applications were generated under their digital signatures when they could not contact voters duri...