Telangana

Hyderabad: Around 18.12 lakh voters in Telangana could lose their spot in the final voter list if their cases stay unresolved. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process puts them at serious risk of removal.

Large numbers, tight deadline. Telangana Chief Electoral Office generated 92,88,187 notices during the exercise. Officials delivered 92,23,486 of them, but 64,701 could not reach voters. Hearings finished for 82,11,205 voters so far. Of those, 74,62,851 were marked eligible and 12,969 were declared ineligible.

The remaining 18,12,367 voters still have not gotten a decision even after repeated reminders and home visits by Booth Level Officers. This is the group most at risk right now.

What happens to voters who do not respond? Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharsan Reddy has stated clearly that voters who fail to respond to notices will be grouped under the Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) category and removed from the final list. However, eligible voters whose names are left out can apply for enrolment again.

Numbers before the revision started

Before the SIR exercise began, Telangana had 3,38,26,448 registered voters. A total of 2,64,87,213 submitted enumeration forms. The draft rolls already removed 73,39,235 voters under the ASDD category.

Important dates: Notice disposal and claims and objections process ends on November 5. Final electoral rolls will be published on November 9.

BLOs are still visiting households to finish the process. If you or someone you know got a notice under this exercise, act fast. Time is running out.

BJP state executive member Juturu Keerthi Reddy has hit out at Congress, accusing the party of making a fuss over the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists. She spoke at a media conference in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, on October 10.

Keerthi Reddy said SIR is meant to clean up voter lists by removing duplicate and ineligible entries. She asked why Congress leaders, who earlier complained about problems in voter lists, now oppose the very process that fixes them. In her view, protecting real voters' rights is a duty everyone shares.

Who should do what instead of protesting

Keerthi Reddy urged anyone unhappy with deleted votes to file objections with election officials directly instead of hitting the streets. Straight talk, that.

She also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. She demanded answers on past controversies around vote theft claims. Keerthi Reddy alleged the Congress government in Telangana has failed to deliver on its promises. She questioned why the Chief Minister is holding protests in Delhi while problems pile up back home.

If you believe your name has been wrongly removed from the voter list, approach your Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Booth Level Officer (BLO) to raise a claim or objection during the revision period.

Election Commission has not yet decided on 18.12 lakh electors in Telangana. Meanwhile, 74.62 lakh voters have been cleared for inclusion in the final electoral rolls.

Officials from Chief Electoral Officer's office said notices were generated for over 92.23 lakh voters. About 64,701 notices could not be delivered. Hearings were done on 82.11 lakh cases. Of those, 74,62,851 electors were found eligible for inclusion. 12,969 electors were found not eligible. The Commission is yet to decide on 18,12,367 voters.

Important dates to note

The period for disposing of notices, claims and objections started on August 17 and ends on October 7, 2026. As per ECI schedule, the remaining decisions will be taken before November 5, 2026. The final voters' list is likely to be published on November 9, 2026.

Officials said instructions were given to Electoral Registration Officers not to cause trouble to voters while sorting out issues. Most electors are likely to see their names in the final list.

Separately, Election Commission removed over 12,000 votes across Telangana based on Form 7 applications. Out of 24,323 applications received statewide, 12,204 votes were removed. In Hyderabad district alone, 6,335 Form 7 applications were filed and 2,066 votes were deleted.

BRS leaders Palla Rajeshwar Reddy and Errabelli Dayakar Rao have raised concern over a large voter list purge in Telangana. Speaking at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad, they said notices were sent to about 95 lakh voters in the state. Out of that, 73 lakh names were deleted in the first phase and another 21 lakh in the second phase. That is a big number, and citizens should pay close attention to this.

Palla, who represents Jangaon, said constituencies like Serilingampalli, Karimnagar and Patancheru have seen a sharp drop in registered voters. He said the deletions hit hardest in seats where BRS had won before. According to him, the removals were done in the name of catching dead persons, duplicate entries and address changes. But eligible voters got deleted too.

Spelling mistakes, surname mismatches and old record errors were enough to cancel someone's right to vote. That should not happen in a democracy, plain and simple. Errabelli Dayakar Rao called for a full inquiry led by a Supreme Court judge and asked for the facts to be made public.

The leaders also criticized Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his removal and an impartial investigation. They appealed to the Supreme Court to step in and asked the Congress government to make its stand on this clear. BRS has postponed its planned dharna at the Election Commission due to the festive season, but a bigger protest is likely soon. Reddy made it clear: the party will keep fighting until every deleted voter name is restored.

What BRS Leaders Said

The leaders raised several points during their press meet. Here is a quick summary of the main claims.

• Notices sent to 95 lakh voters across Telangana
• 73 lakh names removed in the first phase
• 21 lakh names removed in the second phase
• Deletions concentrated in constituencies where BRS had earlier won
• Minor errors like spelling mistakes and surname mismatches led to voter cancellations
• Court-led inquiry demanded, with facts to be made public

BRS also wants Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar removed and an independent investigation into the deletions. They have asked the Supreme Court to take note of the issue and the Congress government to state where it stands.

For now, the party has pushed back its planned protest at the Election Commission because of the festive season. But Reddy said the fight will continue until every wrongly deleted voter name is restored.

Wanaparthy District Collector Adarsh Surabhi has told officials to prepare the Graduates' MLC voter list carefully and within the set schedule for the Mahabubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad Graduates' MLC election.

Telangana State Chief Electoral Officer P. Sudarshan Reddy held a video call with District Collectors across the state on Friday. They reviewed how the voter list is being prepared. He asked officials to follow Election Commission rules closely and make sure eligible graduates register on time.

Form-18 applications must reach the office by November 6. The draft voter list will be published on November 25. Claims or objections will be accepted from November 25 to December 10. Supplementary lists must be done by December 25. The final voters' list will be published on December 30.

What the Collector asked officials to do

The Collector told officials to reach out to eligible graduates and inform them about the process. He also asked them to check applicant details carefully against the right certificates. Every step must be clear and accurate, with no mistakes left in.

Wanaparthy District Collector Adarsh Surabhi and Additional Collector T. Vinod Kumar attended the meeting from the Collectorate. RDO Subrahmanyam, Tahsildars and other officials were also present.

A controversy has come up in Telangana Chief Electoral Officer's office. This is about the appointment of a non-cadre officer as Additional Chief Electoral Officer on October 7. Allegations say that proper rules were not followed during this appointment.

General Administration Department rules say three names must be proposed to Election Commission of India (ECI) for the Additional CEO post. The Chief Secretary and Chief Minister's Office also need to approve these names. But reports say that only one name was sent to the ECI instead of three. This was done without getting State government consent.

Questions over the appointment

This has raised doubts because an IAS officer is already serving as Additional CEO. On December 28, 2024, State government had issued orders to extend the tenure of seven posts in the Telangana CEO's office by three years. That takes it up to 2027.

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharsan Reddy said that proper process was followed and rules were adhered to during the Additional CEO appointment.

Hyderabad: Election authorities in Telangana have cleared 71,23,526 electors for inclusion in the final electoral rolls. This happened after they processed notices, claims and objections from the voter list revision.

Here is the notice breakdown

• 92,88,180 notices were received about discrepancies and unmatched records
• 91,92,625 notices were delivered to voters
• 95,555 notices are still pending delivery

The deadline to dispose of all pending applications is November 5, 2026. Final electoral rolls will be published on November 9. Not much time left.

To be clear, 71.23 lakh is the number of electors cleared for inclusion. This is not the total voter count of Telangana.

Check your details. Look for your name, constituency and polling station info on the Election Commission of India Voters' Service Portal. If you received a notice, follow the instructions from election officials and submit your documents on time.

Over 74 lakh voters in Telangana have been cleared for inclusion in the final electoral rolls after hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Decisions are still pending in more than 18 lakh cases. The state is racing against time to publish the final voter list on 9 November.

How many cases are closed and how many are open

As of 8 October, hearings wrapped up in 82,11,205 cases. Of those, 74,62,851 electors were found eligible. 12,969 were declared ineligible. That leaves 18,12,237 cases waiting for a decision. Authorities have already delivered 92.23 lakh notices out of 92,88,187 generated for voters whose details needed a closer look.

These numbers are striking. Before the revision began, Telangana had 3,38,26,448 registered electors. The draft rolls published on 17 August showed only 2,64,87,213 names. That is a drop of 73,39,235 electors removed under the Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) categories. Meanwhile, roughly 1.72 crore voters in the draft list had no mapping issues or anomaly flags.

The deadline for filing claims and objections ended on 7 October. Notice issuing and pending case decisions will continue until 5 November. Final electoral rolls are set to be published on 9 November once the remaining cases are processed.

Telangana's voter list is about to see a big change. Around 95 lakh names could be removed by the time the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls finishes. Before this process started, the state had about 3.38 crore registered voters.

What happened in the draft rolls

Here is the breakdown:

• About 73.39 lakh voters did not submit enumeration forms. Those names have reportedly been dropped from the draft rolls.
• Notices were sent to 92.88 lakh voters asking them to prove their eligibility. So far, roughly 71.23 lakh of those people have shown they are still eligible.

After the SIR process ends, Telangana's total voter count is expected to fall to around 2.43 crore. Add fresh applications from new voters, and the final roll may settle at about 2.48 crore.

The deletions are not spread evenly. Here is where the biggest cuts are expected:

• Serilingampally at 3,29,828
• Quthbullapur at 2,76,924
• LB Nagar at 2,70,284

Large removals are expected across 28 Assembly constituencies in Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts.

Voters in these areas should check their names in the draft rolls carefully. The final electoral roll under the SIR exercise is scheduled to be published on 9 November 2026.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi is planning a protest outside Telangana Chief Electoral Officer's office in Hyderabad on 10 October. The party wants Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down over alleged problems in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

BRS has flagged large-scale voter deletions in constituencies represented by its MLAs. It is demanding an independent inquiry into the whole process.

Leaders push for judicial probe

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao has asked the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter. He called for a judicial investigation led by a sitting judge. In a post on X, he said no Indian citizen can be stripped of their right to vote and that no individual is above the institution.

BRS Legislature Party deputy leader T. Harish Rao echoed the same demand. He said democracy is bigger than any one person or government. He stressed that if the Election Commission cannot command public confidence, the CEC must resign. Harish Rao also referred to Articles 324, 325 and 326 of the Constitution along with the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951, pointing out the need for a fair and impartial electoral system.

The protest on 10 October is part of BRS's wider campaign over the voter list revision process. The party wants both an independent investigation and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner.

Voters across Telangana are finding their names missing from draft electoral rolls even after submitting enumeration forms with complete details during the Special Intensive Revision process. Many have been wrongly marked as absent, untraceable, shifted, or even dead on the ASDD list.

Based on Election Commission data, 73.39 lakh of Telangana's 3.38 crore electors fall under the Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate categories. That is 21.7 per cent of all voters in the state. Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts alone account for 43 lakh ASDD entries, which is 58.6 per cent of the total.

Several voters shared what happened to them. Syed Anwaruddin from Bandlaguda in Hyderabad submitted his form in July but found his name marked as Absent/Untraceable. Farzana from Korutla in Jagtial district was marked permanently shifted even though she lives at the same address. MD Shanawaz from Karimnagar was removed from the rolls and has not been able to file a Form 6 application because of online errors. In a worrying case from Chandrayangutta, 24-year-old Syed Aqeel Ahmed from Falaknuma was marked as dead in the ASDD list.

What the study found

A study by Sabar Institute found that voters with Muslim names made up 40.7 per cent of deletions in Hyderabad. Their survey also found that 92 per cent of deleted voters were still alive.

Voter rights activist MA Mujeeb Ayub called the entire SIR process unlawful and said he will challenge the deletions in court. He argued that if the electoral roll is finalised without correction, it will cause prejudice against wrongly marked voters.

HYDERABAD: Protests broke out outside Lok Bhavan on Thursday after Telangana Congress leaders held a 'Chalo Lok Bhavan' march. They want Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over alleged problems in the voter revision process.

TPCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud led the rally from the Indira Gandhi statue on Necklace Road. Ministers, MPs, and INDIA bloc leaders joined him. The group shouted slogans against the BJP-led Union government and the Election Commission.

Police detained the leaders and took them to Panjagutta police station. They kept protesting there. Mahesh Goud claimed that 92 lakh votes were deleted in the state. He said the BJP is working with the BRS to target Telangana, after similar moves in Bihar and West Bengal.

Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said Congress will protect the voting rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and minorities. He said the Election Commission must rebuild public trust in the electoral system.