The Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana State, Vikas Raj, has promised political parties that any concerns about voter enrolment will be dealt with quickly. At a meeting with party representatives, plans for the second Special Summary Revision (SSR) were discussed, including the House to House (H2H) survey and the rationalization of polling stations. The draft roll will be released on August 2, with the final electoral roll being published on October 4.
The meeting also covered the history of electoral roll computerisation, including the move from ERMS to ERONET 1.0 in May 2018 and then to ERONET 2.0 in March 2023. ERMS was developed and managed by the CEO office, while the Election Commission of India created ERONET 1.0 and ERONET 2.0.
The differences between ERONET 1.0 and ERONET 2.0 were explained, along with the improved security features of the new EPIC cards. The meeting also discussed services available on the electors’ voter portal, such as online application forms, application status tracking, and e-Epic downloads.
The GHMC commissioner Lokesh and District Electoral Officer, Hyderabad discussed the idea of creating polling stations based on colonies/bastis. They explained how it had been done in consultation with political parties and how it was being piloted in certain wards. Proposed rectifications in the electoral rolls were also discussed to address issues like family members enrolled in different polling stations. The DEO emphasised the need for voters’ lists to be published at each polling station to avoid confusion for BLOs.
