Telangana Vote Base May Shrink 26% After 83 Lakh Clear SIR Hurdle

Nearly 2.5 crore voters in Telangana have been found eligible for inclusion in the final electoral roll under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as of October 21, official sources said on Wednesday.

The Election Commission (EC) is scheduled to publish the final list on November 9. Of the 92.88 lakh voters served notices over discrepancies in their details or lack of mapping with the 2002 electoral roll, election officials have cleared more than 83 lakh, while around 9.6 lakh cases remain pending verification.

Even if these 9.6 lakh voters are cleared, the total voters in Telangana will touch nearly 2.60 crore, which is significantly lower when compared with the total 3.38 crore voters in Telangana prior to the SIR exercise.

According to the latest figures, a total of 83,03,355 voters have qualified for inclusion in the final electoral roll after submitting the required documents. Another 30,407 voters have been found ineligible for failing to furnish valid supporting documents. Of these, 12,718 belong to the anomalies category and 17,689 to the unmapped category. The notice hearing process will conclude on November 5, leaving about 15 days for the completion of the remaining verification.

The EC issued notices to 92,88,188 voters following the publication of the draft electoral roll. Of these, notices were delivered to 92,65,731 voters, while delivery to another 22,457 voters remains pending. So far, 89,75,562 voters have attended hearings, while 3,02,925 have failed to appear despite receiving notices. Another 9,699 cases involve voters who did not attend even after the rescheduled hearing date had passed.

The EC has decided to reschedule hearings for these voters and direct officials to deliver notices personally at their residences and collect the required supporting documents on the spot. Election Commission of India officials have prepared a special action plan to complete the exercise before the deadline.

The draft electoral roll published at the beginning of the revision process contained 1,66,81,849 eligible voters. When these voters are combined with those cleared during the notice verification process, the number of voters eligible for inclusion in the final roll has reached 2,49,85,204,

Among those who responded to notices, 56,86,890 voters in the anomalies or logical discrepancy category and 26,16,465 in the unmapped category have qualified for inclusion after submitting supporting documents. Logical discrepancies arise when details furnished by voters do not match those available in the previous electoral records, while unmapped cases refer to voters whose names could not be linked to the 2002 electoral roll.

Rangareddy district has recorded the highest number of voters facing exclusion for failing to submit valid documents, with 8,208 cases placed in the ineligible category. Peddapalli district followed with 4,424 cases. Adilabad recorded the lowest number at 71, followed by Rajanna Sircilla with 167 cases.

The EC has also processed applications for fresh voter registration received this year. From January 1 to October 16, a total of 10,45,519 applications were received through Form 6. Of these, 5,12,960 applications have been approved and the applicants' names included in the electoral roll. Another 2,23,416 applications were rejected for lack of valid documents, while 3,09,143 applications remain under scrutiny. Eligible applicants among the pending cases will also be considered for inclusion in the final SIR-2026 electoral roll to be published on November 9.

The revision exercise began with the distribution of enumeration forms to voters across the State. Of the total 3,38,26,448 voters in the State before SIR exercise, enumeration forms were distributed to 2,64,87,213.

With the November 5 deadline approaching, election officials are focusing on completing pending hearings, verifying documents and ensuring that eligible voters are included in the final electoral roll.

Total voters before SIR: 3,38,26,448

Enumeration forms distributed: 2,64,87,213

Eligible voters in draft roll: 1,66,81,849

Voters cleared after verification: 83,03,355

Total voters eligible (October 21): 2,49,85,204

Reduction from pre-SIR electorate 88,41,244

Percentage reduction (current) 26.14%