92.8 Lakh Telangana Voters Face Notices in Electoral Roll Revision

Hyderabad: Political parties across Telangana are on alert after election authorities identified 92.8 lakh voters to receive notices following the publication of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) draft electoral rolls on August 17.

According to the Chief Electoral Officer's office, 60.5 lakh voters were found to have discrepancies in their enumeration forms, while another 32.3 lakh voters could not be mapped with the 2002 SIR electoral rolls. The notices are being issued over anomalies such as unusual age gaps between family members, inconsistencies in parents' names, differences in family relationships, and mismatches with historical records. Officials stated that minor spelling errors would be corrected at the local level without adverse action.

The scale of notices is particularly high in the Greater Hyderabad region. In Hyderabad district alone, approximately 12.5 lakh voters require notices, comprising 5.8 lakh unmapped voters and 6.72 lakh with form discrepancies. Across Hyderabad, Medchal-Malkajgiri, and Ranga Reddy districts combined, around 23.26 lakh voters have been identified as unmapped.

The slow pace of distribution has raised concerns regarding the October 15 deadline set for claims and objections. Despite 92.8 lakh voters being flagged, only about 15 lakh notices have been prepared so far, and just 650 have been served. Distribution has not yet commenced in multiple areas, including Hyderabad, where notices are being printed in English, while rural areas are receiving notices in Telugu.

The Congress, BJP, and BRS are preparing to monitor the exercise to prevent genuine voters from being disenfranchised in closely contested constituencies. The BRS has lodged a formal complaint with the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer, alleging irregularities by Booth Level Agents. BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan stated that party cadre were facing attacks and arrests under false cases for flagging fraudulent voter registrations.