No cakewalk for Telangana electors seeking re-entry into voter rolls after SIR

Electors removed from Telangana's electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise may face a stringent verification process if they seek re-enrolment. The final electoral rolls are scheduled for publication on November 9.

Hyderabad: It will be no cakewalk for Telangana electors dropped from the final electoral rolls to get back on the voter list again.

Applications (Forms 6 and 6A) from people aged 25 and above seeking new enrolment will be thoroughly verified, including physical verification and checks on the reasons for their exclusion from the final voter list during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

---

Under Election Commission of India (ECI) rules, people seeking enrolment in States where the SIR process is underway must submit a declaration giving details of their place of birth, residential address and how long they have lived there.

They must also state that they are enrolling for the first time and that their names are not included in the electoral roll of any Assembly or Parliamentary Constituency.

The declaration warns that making a false statement is punishable with up to one year in prison, a fine, or both. However, such a declaration is not required once the SIR process is completed.

Since the declaration is currently mandatory, a large number of people are waiting for the SIR process to conclude. However, sources in the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer’s office revealed that applications for new enrolment from people aged 25 and above will be thoroughly scrutinised.

“The ECI has tightened the norms for inclusion in electoral rolls after the SIR. If the applicant submits proper documents and meets the requirements, their name will be added back to the voter list,” sources said.

However, young individuals seeking enrolment for the first time after attaining the eligible voting age of 18 years will have an easier process for getting their names added to the voter list.

Before the SIR exercise began, Telangana had 3,38,26,448 voters, of whom 2,64,87,213 submitted enumeration forms and the remaining electors categorised under Absent, Shifted, Death and Duplicate (ASDD) were removed from draft electoral rolls.

So far, notices were generated for 92,88,188 electors over logical discrepancies and the absence of 2002 SIR mapping details in their enumeration forms.

Notices have been served to 92,73,749 electors, while delivery to 14,439 remains pending, as of Saturday. Hearings for 91,09,213 notices have been completed, so far. A total of 2,55,07,734 electors, including 86,81,351 who cleared the hearings, have been marked for inclusion in the final list as of Saturday.

A total of 39,242 electors have been found ineligible for inclusion in the final rolls, which will be published on November 9.

Meanwhile, the process of issuing notices and disposing of claims and objections will conclude on November 5.