ECI Receives Nearly 50,000 Form 7 Applications Seeking Vote Deletions in Telangana

The Election Commission of India has received close to 50,000 Form-7 applications seeking the deletion of voter names or raising objections against draft electoral roll entries in Telangana. The requests have arrived amid an ongoing review in Hyderabad and across the state, where nearly 93 lakh voters were flagged for logical discrepancies or placed on the absent, shifted, dead, and duplicate list.

During a recent meeting held at the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation office and chaired by the District Election Officer, who is also the GHMC commissioner, election officials shared the total count of deletion requests. However, officials did not release consolidated Assembly constituency-wise breakdowns to political representatives.

Political parties have formally asked poll authorities to provide details through Form 10, the consolidated register of objections submitted under Form 7. Representatives also sought Form 9, covering new voter applications filed through Form 6, and Form 11, listing correction requests made under Form 8, across all Assembly constituencies.

A party representative present at the GHMC meeting noted that they urged officials to provide Forms 9, 10, and 11 at the Assembly constituency level and expressed hope that the administrative machinery would expedite the process. The claims and objections phase is scheduled to continue until September 16.

The Congress party has undertaken a door-to-door verification exercise using booth-level agents to examine inconsistencies and check the ASDD list across all constituencies. Congress leaders expressed concern over potential misuse of Form-7 provisions based on voter deletions seen during earlier special summary revision phases in other states, stating they are monitoring submissions closely and asking officials to share specific details of online and offline submissions.

Under ECI regulations, booth-level agents are permitted to file up to 50 forms each day, consisting of 20 applications under Form 6, 20 under Form 7, and 10 under Form 8. While claims are officially verified by election authorities, rival booth-level agents also hold the provision to challenge entries.

Out of more than 49,000 booth-level agents across Telangana, 25,160 are currently registered with the ECI. Among the registered agents, the Congress has 3,601, the BJP has 3,044, the BRS has 2,212, and the AIMIM has 2,519. Smaller counts include the Telugu Desam Party with six, the CPM with nine, and the BSP with seven, while the AAP, YSR Congress, and National People's Party have none registered in the state.