Mass voter shifts leave Hyderabad BLOs struggling to deliver enumeration forms

Hyderabad BLOs are facing difficulties distributing enumeration forms as many voters have shifted homes without updating their electoral addresses. Landlords are refusing forms meant for former tenants, while over 11.52 lakh voters across 15 Assembly constituencies have been marked absent, shifted or dead.

Hyderabad: A large-scale shifting of electors from their rented houses has put the BLOs in a sticky situation, as several house owners are neither accepting enumeration forms nor allowing the previous tenants to continue using the same address for electoral registration.

The BLOs have been instructed to hand over enumeration forms to electors only at the addresses registered in the electoral roll. However, there are several voters who have shifted houses without changing their address in the electoral records. This has left BLOs with no option but to visit the address mentioned in the roll.

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According to the information available with the GHMC, 15 Assembly constituencies of Hyderabad district have a total of 47,36,669 voters. Of the total, 11,52,613 have already been identified as absent, shifted, or dead.

The house owners, the BLOs said, have been questioning why enumeration forms are being handed over to those who no longer reside in their houses. In several instances, the house owners outrightly refused to take the forms. One of the main contentions that house owners, as per the BLOs, raised is that their properties should not remain associated with previous tenants.

“The landlords’ only concern is that if the former tenants get into any legal trouble, the police may come looking for them at their address. So, we are calling up the electors and asking them to collect the forms. But it is the voters’ responsibility to update their addresses after they shift their residence,” said one of the BLOs.

Another BLO from Hyderabad Central zone said that if the tenants continue to use their previous house address, the landlords could raise objections after the draft electoral roll is published on August 10. “If house owner raises an objection, the electoral registration office concerned will issue a notice to the respective electors who have to submit required documents,” the BLO added.