Hyderabad: People are beginning to question the State Election Authorities and the staff responsible for revising electoral rolls.
Recently, the state election authorities held a video conference with district collectors to review and start a special revision of electoral rolls from August 20. This revision is particularly important because it is happening before the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections scheduled for next year.
There have been past allegations that illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis were added to the voter lists in the 150 wards of the GHMC. The Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana, who works on behalf of the Election Commission of India (ECI), relies on the GHMC staff to prepare for elections.
Numerous complaints and representations have been submitted to election authorities at the district, state, and central levels over the years. However, neither the Central Election Commission nor the state or district election authorities have taken concrete action against officials responsible for irregularities in the electoral rolls.
The State BJP had previously complained to ECI officials in Delhi, demanding the removal of 25,000 fake votes that were allegedly added during the Munugodu by-poll.
Similarly, sitting MP and former MLA Eatala Rajender was accused of manipulating electoral rolls in Karimnagar district, with complaints stating that 34 voters were registered using the residence address of the Huzurabad chairman. Additionally, 41 more voters were registered with the house address of another leader.
Union Minister of Coal and Mines and Secunderabad MP G Kishan Reddy recently demanded a complete revamping and verification of voter lists, alleging that votes of deceased persons were not removed. He also pointed out that thousands of votes were deleted in the Jubilee Hills Assembly segment, and that during the parliament elections, voters from the same family were assigned to different polling booths.
People have also taken to social media to criticize the GHMC and its staff, accusing them of deliberately deleting 3,000 votes during the parliament elections. For instance, 100 out of 951 votes at St. Mary’s School polling station in Vijayanagar Colony under the Nampally Assembly segment were reportedly deleted.
The GHMC, which is responsible for preparing electoral rolls and conducting State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, has faced sharp criticism multiple times over the years for allegedly deleting votes in violation of norms.
During the last parliament elections, voters in the Shaikpet division staged a protest. They accused GHMC and the Revenue Divisional Officer of going into hiding and not responding to concerns about vote deletions during the elections.
Voters have expressed their frustration, asking the election commission, GHMC Commissioner, and District Collectors to focus on protecting people’s right to vote instead of merely lecturing on the importance of voting. They have questioned how many people were served notices before their votes were deleted. Despite these concerns being raised for years, neither the GHMC nor the CEO of Telangana has responded.
In addition to the allegations in Shaikpet and Jubilee Hills, a voter from the Professors Colony of the Malakpet Assembly segment shared on social media how, despite living in the area for 45 years, 15 to 16 votes from his family were deleted in the newly published special summary revision of the voters list on April 25, 2024. To make matters worse, several additional votes were mysteriously added to the list under his house number.
