Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Aug 11: More than 45 lakh of the 73.39 lakh voters who did not submit enumeration forms during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Telangana were found to have permanently shifted to other states, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) C Sudharsan Reddy said on Tuesday.

A day after the deadline for submitting enumeration forms ended, the CEO released details of voters classified as Absent, Shifted or Dead (ASD).

A total of 73,39,234 enumeration forms could not be collected during the door-to-door visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across the state.

Of the total 3,38,26,448 voters, enumeration forms of 2,64,87,214 voters (78.30 per cent) had been digitised. The remaining 21.70 per cent (73,39,234) voters did not submit their enumeration forms.

Of these, 9,22,230 voters were reported dead, while 11,25,546 were absent or untraceable.

As many as 45,18,916 voters were found to have permanently shifted, while 6,70,203 were already enrolled. Another 1,02,294 voters were placed in the ‘others’ category.

According to the status report as of August 10, Hyderabad recorded the lowest digitisation rate at 58.89 per cent.

Of the 47,36,669 electors in Hyderabad, enumeration forms of only 27,89,214 voters had been digitised. As many as 19.47 lakh voters in the state capital face possible deletion from the rolls.

Yadadri Bhongiri district recorded the highest digitisation rate at 94.31 per cent, leading the 33 districts in Telangana.

The draft electoral rolls will be published on August 17, while the period for filing claims and objections will continue from August 17 to September 16.

The notice phase for disposal of claims and objections will run from August 17 to October 15, with the final publication of the electoral rolls scheduled for October 19.

Election officials are likely to issue notices to around 60 lakh voters whose enumeration forms have reportedly been found to contain anomalies.

Meanwhile, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K T Rama Rao held a meeting with the party’s SIR committee on Tuesday.

He reviewed the party’s grassroots activities related to the SIR process, the problems being faced by voters and measures required to prevent the deletion of names of eligible voters.

Later, addressing the media, KTR expressed concern over around 73 to 74 lakh votes being classified as “uncollectible”, saying no response had been received regarding them so far.

He voiced concern that a large number of these voters could face deletion from the electoral rolls.

KTR also said there were reports of anomalies in around 60 lakh votes.

“Overall, it appears that by the time the SIR process concludes, only about 2 crore votes will remain without issues,” he said, adding that information from the Election Commission indicated that some of the remaining votes could face deletion, while others contained errors or raised suspicions.

He stressed that it was essential to ensure that not a single eligible vote is unjustly removed.

KTR said election officials had announced plans to publish the draft voter list and that the party would hold district-wise meetings after its publication.

He said the party had already consulted its legal cell and sought advice from legal experts.

KTR said discussions with legal experts focused on possible legal action and party-level initiatives to secure justice for eligible voters whose names might be removed from the rolls.

He added that the party would also mobilise its machinery to support voters affected by the revision process.