Election Commission deleted lakhs of voters in Telangana without proper notice

The Election Commission of India and its local officials deleted lakhs of voters in Telangana without following the proper legal steps during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls. Voters grouped under the 'Absent, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate' categories were removed by Electoral Registration Officers on behalf of the Election Commission without using the procedures required by the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Software programs automatically generated Form-7 deletion requests for these voters, with the registration officers listed as the objectors. At the end of the enumeration phase in Telangana, a total of 73,39,235 electors were placed in these categories, with a majority marked as absent or shifted. Officials stated that voters who did not collect or return their enumeration forms were put in these categories. Duplicate voters were found by running software that matched names and photos. A total of 45,18,963 voters were listed as permanently shifted, while 11,25,546 were marked as absent or untraceable. However, many absent and shifted categories lacked confirmation because booth level officers did not actually visit homes to hand out and collect forms. Most urban booth level officers stayed at one central spot to give forms only to people who came to them. They then marked anyone who did not collect or return a form as absent or shifted.

Official Response and Rules

Officials from the Chief Electoral Officer's office stated that registration officers have the legal power to make suo-motu deletions during intensive revisions. The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 do allow these officers to remove names if errors or inadvertence caused dead or shifted persons to be included. However, the rules require officers to prepare a list, display it on office notice boards with a notice for objections, and consider any feedback before deciding. Guidelines also state that Form-7 deletions must appear in Form 10 for at least seven clear days before a final decision. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee election cell in-charge P. Rajesh Kumar alleged that booth level agents signed blank minutes formats before numbers were filled in. Mr. Rajesh Kumar wrote a letter about this to Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharsan Reddy on August 1, 2026. Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharsan Reddy maintained that the deleted lists remain on display for objections, but noted that removed voters must submit Form-6 to enroll afresh.

Context

Electoral rolls are lists of registered voters that must be kept accurate and updated ahead of any democratic election. The rules governing voter deletions exist to protect citizens from losing their voting rights due to administrative errors or a lack of personal notice.