Uttarakhand voter-deletion puzzle: Why 4 plains districts account for 85% of Form-7s

Over 85% of the Form-7 applications seeking deletion of names from Uttarakhand’s electoral rolls have come from just four districts — Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar, Dehradun and Nainital — putting the spotlight on why voter-deletion requests are so heavily concentrated in the state’s plains.

The Indian Express reported on Tuesday that these four districts together account for more than 85% of the 1,30,382 Form-7 applications filed during the claims-and-objections period of the SIR. Udham Singh Nagar accounts for 43,878 applications, followed by Haridwar with 29,369, Dehradun with 19,402 and Nainital with 18,301.

The concentration is striking not only because of its scale, but due to the sharp contrast with the state’s hill districts. By comparison, Pauri Garhwal received 5,424, Pithoragarh 3,044, Almora 2,999, Chamoli 1,702, Champawat 1,723 and Tehri Garhwal 1,431.

Uttarkashi received 2,109, while Bageshwar and Rudraprayag recorded just 618 and 382 respectively. He rejected the suggestion that the concentration was connected to the state’s minority population. “It is not that any minority is being targeted,” he said.

The Congress, however, disagrees. Suryakant Dhasama, senior vice-president of Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee, said the party was not opposed to the SIR, but questioned the manner in which the deletion process was being carried out.

“Our biggest objection is the intention of the Election Commission,” Dhasama said, alleging the poll panel was acting in the interests of the BJP. “These four districts are happening in most of the seats where Muslims, minorities, poor people, SC, ST are there.

They are targeting them because they are the vote base of the Congress Party.” An Election Commission official, however, cautioned against drawing conclusions about why Form-7 applications were concentrated in particular districts simply from the numbers.

“This is the fact. The forms are received. There can’t be an opinion about this,” the official said, adding that the data reflected only the applications received during the claims-and-objections period. The numbers could vary significantly from one district to another depending on how actively individuals examined the electoral rolls.

The concentration of Form-7 applications has also translated into a substantial administrative burden. Of the 1,30,382 Form-7 applications received between July 14 and August 13, only 44,132 had been disposed of as of September 7, leaving 86,250 under process.

Udham Singh Nagar has 34,903 applications under process, followed by Haridwar (17,554), Nainital (11,498) and Dehradun (11,262). The Election Commission has now extended the claims-and-objections deadline from September 9 to September 28.

The final electoral roll will be published on October 3. An Award-winning journalist covering the state of Uttarakhand, Vidheesha Kuntamalla has reported on education, policy and social justice. She has broken news and written investigative stories on education, some of which have prompted responses from central universities and government authorities.

She uses the Right to Information Act as a reporting tool and enjoys telling people-driven stories through long-form journalism. Vidheesha joined The Indian Express’s Delhi City team in 2023, where she has been part of the education coverage in the newsroom, reporting on policy, institutions, and issues affecting students and communities.

Her journalism career began in 2020 as a freelance journalist after she left a career in civil engineering. She covered her home states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, focusing on gender, social justice, and politics. Vidheesha Kuntamalla Qualification, Degrees: Master of Science in Quantity Surveying from Kingston University, London Awards and Recognition: Vidheesha won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2024 for her long-form story on India’s first case of passive euthanasia.

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