Voters check their names and details during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Telangana. (DC File Image)

With several instances of wrongful exclusion of voters from the Draft Electoral Roll during the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR), questions are being raised over the massive number of deletions. Aggrieved citizens are demanding that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) order a probe into how over 73 lakh voters ended up in the ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Dead & Duplicate) list.

In Hyderabad district alone, 19.41 lakh voters were marked under ASDD. Cases have surfaced where voters who submitted their enumeration forms still found their names missing. In Basharath Nagar, Bahadurpura constituency, Khudsia Begum submitted her form online on July 9 and received an ECI acknowledgement, yet her name was excluded as “Untraceable/Absent.” Similarly, Abdul Quddus, who submitted his form manually, was listed as “Permanently Shifted” despite residing at the same address for three decades.

Activists assisting voters said such arbitrary classification defeats the objective of an inclusive and accurate roll. SQ Masood, in a representation to the CEO, urged immediate investigation and restoration of names.

The Sabar Institute, a West Bengal‑based public policy research body, called for “serious scrutiny,” noting that deletions in Malakpet (1.47 lakh) and Yakutpura (1.54 lakh) exceeded voter turnout in the 2023 Assembly polls.

Political parties have also stepped in. Congress BLAs are conducting door‑to‑door reverification, claiming 300–400 deletions per booth in Hyderabad and 150 per booth in districts. “There is little chance voters failed to return forms. More likely BLOs did not visit houses as mandated. We are compiling details to represent to the CEO,” said a member of the Election Coordination Committee.

The scale of deletions has triggered widespread concern, with demands for scrutiny of BLO and ERO records and restoration of affected names in accordance with law.

Gfx: Voter Enumeration & ASDD Classification

· Total voters: 3,38,26,448 (100%)

· Enumeration forms digitised: 2,64,87,214 (78.30%)

ASDD category – 73,39,234 (21.70%)

· Death: 9,22,230

· Absent / Untraceable: 11,25,546

· Permanently shifted: 45,18,961

· Already enrolled (other location): 6,70,203

· Others: 1,02,294

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