Revanth Reddy Reviews Slow Electoral Roll Verification in Hyderabad and Malkajgiri

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan held a virtual review meeting on July 19 to address the slow progress of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, focusing particularly on low voter response in Hyderabad, Malkajgiri, and Rangareddy.

The meeting, which included Congress ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and DCC presidents, was called after the Election Commission of India extended the deadline for house-to-house verification by Booth Level Officers from July 24 to August 3.

The extension of the deadline came amid growing concerns within the ruling Congress party over a potential large-scale deletion of genuine voters from the final electoral rolls. The party leadership expressed alarm over dismal voter response, particularly in urban areas, and aimed to use the meeting to assess district-wise progress and push for intensified awareness campaigns.

According to Election Commission data up to July 15, while Booth Level Officers successfully distributed enumeration forms to 99.99 percent of electors across Telangana, only 54.84 percent of voters had completed and returned their forms for digitization. This low return rate triggered fears that many eligible voters could be left off the final rolls.

The situation was reported as particularly critical in the Hyderabad Core Urban Region, which includes the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Malkajgiri, and Cyberabad Municipal Corporations. Medchal-Malkajgiri district recorded the lowest performance in the state, with only 24.09 percent of voters returning their forms by July 15.

In Hyderabad district, though all 47.36 lakh voters received their enumeration forms, only 27.29 percent submitted them back to officials. Similarly, Rangareddy district saw a weak response, with only 38.10 percent of its 29.76 lakh voters completing the submission process.

In contrast, some rural districts performed significantly better. Yadadri Bhongir recorded the highest completion rate in the state at 83.34 percent. Siddipet followed with 77.35 percent, and Nalgonda reported a 77.30 percent submission rate.

The poor urban turnout raised serious concerns that party leaders and elected representatives were treating the exercise casually. Chief Minister Reddy had previously warned leaders during a June 24 review meeting that negligence would not be tolerated. He had cautioned that the party was tracking participation in awareness campaigns and would replace non-performing MLAs and in-charge ministers if voter enumeration did not improve.