‘89L votes need verification’

Officials say flagged records are only for re-check, not deletion, and genuine voters need not panic

metro india news  I hyderabad :

The Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Telangana has triggered widespread public concern after nearly 89 lakh voter records were flagged for scrutiny during a preliminary data verification exercise. While the figure has raised fears of large-scale deletions from the electoral rolls, election officials have clarified that the flagged records merely indicate data anomalies that require verification and do not automatically mean that any voter will lose the right to vote.

According to Election Commission officials, the anomalies were generated by a system based review of the state's electoral database, which currently contains about 3.38 crore voters. The software identified discrepancies across 11 logical parameters, including unusually small or large age gaps between parents and children, inconsistencies in family details between previous and current electoral rolls, mismatched relationships, incorrect age progression, absence of supporting documents, and cases where only Aadhaar was submitted as proof.

Officials explained that these discrepancies accumulated over several years due to data entry errors, migration, duplicate registrations, deaths, spelling mistakes, address changes and incomplete documentation. They stressed that the exercise is intended to identify records requiring verification rather than to eliminate voters.

A senior election official said every voter, including those whose records have been flagged, will receive an Enumerator Form during the ongoing door to door verification being carried out by Booth Level Officers between June 25 and July 24. Voters will have the opportunity to correct mistakes, update documents and furnish any missing information. Once verified, genuine voters will be removed from the anomaly list before the draft electoral roll is prepared.

The official appealed to citizens not to panic, noting that the 89 lakh figure is only a system generated list requiring field verification. He added that the number is expected to come down substantially after the manual verification exercise, as duplicate entries, migrated voters and deceased persons are filtered out while genuine electors rectify their details.

The SIR exercise has also prompted varied political reactions, although all major parties have asserted that genuine voters must not be deprived of their franchise.

Congress MLC Addanki Dayaker said the party had reservations over conducting the SIR in selected states instead of implementing a nationwide exercise similar to the Census, arguing that a uniform process would avoid unnecessary controversies. At the same time, he maintained that Congress supports the removal of fake and duplicate voters. He said booth level workers, legislators and specially appointed constituency coordinators have been instructed to monitor the exercise closely and ensure that no genuine voter is excluded.

BRS General Secretary Soma Bharath Kumar said party working president K T Rama Rao has already sensitized party workers about every aspect of the revision process. He said nearly 35,000 Booth Level Assistants have been mobilized across Telangana to assist citizens with documentation and ensure that every eligible voter's name finds a place in the final electoral roll.

BJP Vice President Dr. Boora Narsaiah Goud and party spokesperson Rani Rudrama Devi described the SIR as an exercise aimed solely at removing fake, duplicate and deceased voters while safeguarding the voting rights of genuine citizens. They urged all eligible voters to actively participate in the month long verification process and complete the required formalities to protect their constitutional right to vote.

CPI(M) leader M. Srinivas said his party has activated its booth level network across Telangana to assist voters throughout the exercise. He said party workers would extend every possible help to eligible voters, particularly those whose names have appeared in the anomaly list, to ensure that no genuine elector is left out.

As the month long revision gathers pace, election officials and political parties appear united on one message: the anomaly list is only the starting point of verification, and the final objective is an accurate electoral roll that removes ineligible names without disenfranchising genuine voters.

SIR is about Clean Voter lists, not Politics

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy defended the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, describing it as a constitutional and routine process aimed at ensuring clean, accurate and transparent electoral rolls. He said the exercise is intended to include every eligible Indian voter while removing duplicate, deceased and ineligible entries, and stressed that it has no connection with politics, religion or citizenship.

Kishan Reddy alleged that illegal immigrants, including Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals, had obtained voter identity cards and other government documents in Hyderabad, making periodic purification of electoral rolls essential. He claimed that some political parties were attempting to obstruct Booth Level Officers from carrying out door to door verification and warned against intimidating election staff.

Reiterating that the Election Commission functions independently of both the Centre and state governments, he urged officials to discharge their duties impartially and assured them of the BJP's support against any political pressure. Accusing the Congress, BRS and MIM of spreading misinformation, he said they were creating unnecessary fear and attempting to undermine public confidence in the Election Commission.