HYDERABAD — Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday flagged concerns over the possibility of a large number of voter deletions during the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, which will begin from June 15. Besides directing the partymen to set up a war room at the state level, Revanth Reddy underscored the need for setting up monitoring mechanisms at district, parliamentary constituency and Assembly segment levels.
Addressing Congress leaders through an online Zoom meeting organised by the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) on Monday, Reddy directed party cadres to remain vigilant during the voter list revision process.
“Everyone should be alert regarding the SIR. An attempt is being made to remove votes in the name of suspicion. If that happens, we will face a very dangerous political situation,” he said.
The Chief Minister instructed key party leaders to stay in constant touch with booth-level agents (BLAs) across all 119 Assembly constituencies. He cautioned that voters who have temporarily migrated from their homes in villages should not lose their voting rights merely because they are not currently residing there.
Reddy directed district in-charge ministers to conduct review meetings with Parliament and Assembly constituency in-charges by June 20 and establish coordination mechanisms at the district level.
“If there is a problem anywhere, the constituency in-charge will be held responsible. SIR should be taken seriously. A war room should be set up at Gandhi Bhavan (headquarters of TPCC) to monitor work at the polling booth level, and daily reports should be submitted. Negligence will lead to losses,” he said.
TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud also urged party workers to remain vigilant.
“In the recent Assembly elections in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) suffered because of the removal of votes during the revision process. Congress workers in Telangana should ensure that not a single vote is lost,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka advised Congress cadres to work to protect every citizen’s right to vote.
“If BLAs of the party are not alert, there is a risk of losing a large number of votes. BLAs should carefully verify errors in voter lists and collect the required documents from voters and submit them to the authorities on time,” he said.
AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission were using voter list revisions (SIR) to their advantage.
“Even minor mistakes can result in votes being cancelled. Illiterate and poor voters are especially vulnerable. We must remain cautious and ensure that eligible voters are not excluded,” she said.
