SIR in Telangana: About 30 Lakh Votes May Get Omitted

Hyderabad: An estimated 30 lakh votes or nearly nine per cent in Telangana are likely to get removed from the electoral rolls in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which will begin on June 25.

With Hyderabad completing around 45 per cent till date in terms of voter mapping, the state capital will witness most deletions owing to multiple voter IDs and failure of candidates to back their claims during the upcoming enumeration process.

Official sources told Deccan Chronicle that till Thursday, Telangana has completed the mapping of 68.72 per cent of its 3.4 crore voters, and by June 10, which is likely to be the freezing date, the mapping will be just over 70 per cent.

In the six days, the voter mapping could reach over 70 per cent at the most. "This could be somewhere around 71 per cent to 72 per cent with all the ongoing efforts. Those left out will have to undergo the next stage, which is enumeration as part of the SIR exercise. Given the facts and figures, the proportionate numbers indicate that 30 lakh may get omitted,” said an official.

According to the officials, migrant workers from other states, who are enrolled as voters in both Telangana and their home states, could be the main reason for reaching merely 44.87 per cent voter mapping in Hyderabad.

Similarly, Sangareddy, with the most migrant population, could achieve only 56 per cent of voter mapping. In contrast, the districts with negligible migration population have performed well. Jangaon (93.13 per cent) and Mahbubabad (93.93 per cent) have both crossed 93 per cent.

“Unlike the countryside, Hyderabad has a migrant population not only from northern states like Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan, but also from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Mapping of these types of populations could not be done, as they might have already undergone mapping and enumeration in other states, which is reflected online. Once the process is completed, there won’t be duplicate voters,” added the official.

Even though the official freezing date for the mapping is June 12, chief electoral officer C Sudharshan Reddy has formally sought the date to be rescheduled to June 10.

June 15 to June 24: Preliminary preparation, official training, and document printing

June 25 to July 24: House-to-house enumeration phase conducted by BLOs

July 31: Official publication of the draft electoral rolls

July 31 to August 30: Window open for citizens to file claims and objections

July 31 to September 28: Issuance, hearings, and disposal of notices by EROs.

October 1, 2026: Publication of the final, updated voter list.