BRS Demands One-Month Extension for Electoral Roll Revision in Telangana

A Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) delegation met with Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy in Hyderabad on Monday, 6 July 2026, to demand a one-month extension for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The opposition party cited procedural lapses, technical issues, and inadequate voter verification as key reasons for the requested extension.

The BRS delegation, led by former MP B Vinod Kumar and MLC L Ramana, submitted a formal memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer. The party argued that the current timeline does not allow sufficient time to complete the voter verification process in a transparent and error-free manner.

According to Vinod Kumar, the BRS had established a special committee to coordinate with Booth Level Agents (BLAs) and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the revision process. However, complaints from party cadre across Telangana indicated that BLOs were not functioning uniformly. Furthermore, many eligible voters had not yet received enumeration forms, despite only 20 days remaining to complete the exercise.

The delegation highlighted a significant gap in the digitisation of voter records. While enumeration forms have been distributed to approximately 2.96 crore of Telangana’s 3.38 crore electors, only 19 lakh forms had been digitised as of 5 July 2026. The BRS argued that an additional month is necessary to prevent genuine voters from being excluded from the electoral rolls.

The party also raised concerns regarding the reference documents and technical infrastructure. Vinod Kumar alleged that the 2002 electoral rolls being used as a reference were not readily available with Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers, which complicated the verification process. Additionally, the Election Commission of India (ECI) portal was reportedly frequently inaccessible, and more than 50 per cent of electors in the available Telugu-language rolls lacked EPIC details.

Other issues highlighted by the delegation included a lack of proper training and clear instructions for BLOs, the deletion of voters due to minor spelling errors, and inconsistencies in the order of surnames and given names. They also noted a lack of transparency in identifying duplicate or deceased voters, missing voter mapping details, and a failure to issue acknowledgements for submitted enumeration forms.