BRS seeks action against Revanth Reddy over duplicate vote allegation

BRS general secretary RS Praveen Kumar urged the Election Commission to act against Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy over allegations of duplicate voter registration in two Assembly constituencies. He sought a probe, disclosure of records and stringent action if any violation is established

Hyderabad: BRS general secretary RS Praveen Kumar demanded that the Election Commission of India register a case against Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy following allegations that he was enrolled as a voter in two Assembly constituencies, violating provisions of the Representation of the People Act. He sought stringent action, including cancellation of Revanth Reddy’s election from Kodangal, if the allegation was established.

Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Wednesday, Praveen Kumar cited a Telangana Today report claiming that Revanth Reddy’s name appeared in the electoral rolls of both Kodangal constituency and Kondareddypalli in Achampet constituency. Referring to Sections 17 and 18 of the Representation of the People Act, he said a person cannot be enrolled as a voter in more than one constituency and cannot have more than one vote. He added that furnishing a false declaration attracts penal provisions under Section 31, carrying imprisonment of up to one year and a fine, if proven.

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He questioned the State government’s response through the official “Factcheck_Telangana” handle on X, which described the duplicate entry as an “electoral anomaly” being addressed during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He argued that any clarification on electoral rolls should come only from the Election Commission or the Chief Electoral Officer under Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act. He also noted that the social media post was later deleted.

The BRS leader referred to a statement issued by the Nagarkurnool District Collector, who also serves as the District Electoral Officer, claiming that Revanth Reddy’s name existed only in Kodangal, but not in the Kondareddypalli electoral roll. However, he alleged that the Chief Minister’s name continued to appear in the Kondareddypalli voters’ list on the Election Commission’s website despite his 2023 election affidavit declaring that he has a vote in Kodangal constituency.

Praveen Kumar contended that any transfer of a voter’s registration required the submission of Form 8, followed by due process, including the issuance of a Form 7 notice before deletion from the previous roll. He demanded that the Chief Electoral Officer and the Nagarkurnool District Collector make the relevant records public and explain whether the prescribed procedure had been followed.

Alleging that the government attempted to mislead the public through the “Factcheck_Telangana” post, the former IPS officer questioned why the alleged duplication had not been detected during earlier Special Summary Revisions. He said the BRS would approach the Election Commission seeking stringent action and accused the district administration of attempting to intimidate the media for reporting the issue.