Hyderabad: Being included in Telangana’s draft electoral roll may offer temporary relief to voters, but it does not necessarily secure a place in the final roll. While 73.3 lakh electors have already been excluded under the absent, shifted, dead and duplicate (ASDD) category, another 92.8 lakh voters who continue to figure in the draft roll have either been flagged for anomalies or could not be linked to the previous Special Intensive Revision (SIR) roll, putting their status under further scrutiny.Based on the categories released so far by the Election Commission of India (ECI), only 1.72 crore voters are free of the three flags: ASDD, anomalies and no-mapping. That accounts for just 50.8% of Telangana’s previous electorate of around 3.3 crore voters.After the deletion of 73.3 lakh ASDD electors, 2.64 crore names remain in the draft roll. However, among them, 60.5 lakh have been marked as anomaly cases and another 32.3 lakh have been classified as unmapped.Unmapped voters face key testWhile anomaly cases are generally expected to involve correction or verification of voter details, the bigger challenge lies with the 32.3 lakh unmapped electors whose records could not be linked to the previous SIR roll of 2002.Sources said no-mapping occurred either because voters did not provide details relating to the 2002 roll or because some booth-level officers (BLOs) filled out forms themselves during the digitisation exercise to show higher completion rates.Electors classified as unmapped, or no-mapping cases, will have to respond to notices and furnish any documents sought by the electoral registration officer (ERO).Telangana chief electoral officer C Sudharshan Reddy said the draft rolls and ASDD lists are available online, but lists relating to anomalies and unmapped voters are not currently accessible for public search. “Each BLO will have data on anomolies and no-mapping voters can contact them. We will also try to display it on the ERO notice board. Otherwise, voters have to wait to get notice from EROs,” the CEO said.He said notices would be issued to 92.8 lakh voters, comprising around 32 lakh unmapped electors and 60.5 lakh anomaly cases. “Regarding uploading these anomalies and unmapped or no-mapping cases online, we will discuss it and decide soon,” he said.Search now, but watch for noticeVoters can check their status using their elector photo identity card (EPIC) number, mobile number or personal details on the ECI’s electoral search portal. Booth-wise draft rolls are also available for download.A voter whose name appears in the ASDD list but is missing from the draft roll can seek inclusion through the prescribed claims process, including form 6 where applicable.However, voters whose names remain in the draft roll but later receive an anomaly or no-mapping notice will be required to respond with supporting documents and appear before the ERO if called for a hearing.
