Hyderabad: Telangana’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will begin from Thursday, with booth-level officers (BLOs) distributing enumeration forms to nearly 3.38 crore electors. Voters will have a month to fill out and return the form, retain the acknowledged copy, and contact the BLO or election officials if they do not receive one.The exercise begins amid the pre-SIR exercise flagging more than 88 lakh electoral records showing anomalies and poor voter mapping in Hyderabad and neighbouring urban districts.Political parties too have highlighted a number of issues, including wrongful exclusion of genuine voters, impact on urban and migrant populations who may have shifted homes several times in the past 24 years, voters finding it difficult to access the Election Commission portal for 2002 rolls and discrepancies in eligibility documents.Parties have deployed booth-level agents (BLAs) to monitor the process. Commission officials say all measures are in place to ensure that genuine voters are not excluded from the draft rolls to be published on July 31.Chief electoral officer C Sudharshan Reddy told TOI that BLOs would begin door-to-door form distribution early on Thursday. The drive is expected to be more intensive during the morning and evening hours and will continue for a week. Two sets of enumeration forms will be distributed to voters at their current electoral roll address.BLOs to make repeat visitsPre-printed enumeration forms will be delivered at the address recorded in the existing electoral roll. If a house is locked or the voter is unavailable, BLOs will make two or three visits and may leave the form at the address, said Reddy.“Voters will have about a month to submit the filled up form. They need not fill it immediately, as BLOs will return to collect the completed copy. Voters must retain the acknowledged copy as proof of submission,” added Reddy.Notices will be issued only after the completed forms are collected and discrepancies are detected. Those who do not receive a form can approach the electoral registration officer or assistant electoral registration officerBLO.Reddy advised voters who have shifted residence to collect the form from the old address where their Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is registered, complete it and apply for a change of address.Election officials said failure to return forms may lead to further verification if the voter is reported absent, shifted, deceased or duplicate. Eligible voters whose names do not appear in the draft roll can seek inclusion during the claims and objections period.Language may pose hurdle in urban districtsThe availability of enumeration forms only in Telugu in Medchal-Malkajgiri and Rangareddy districts could pose difficulties for migrants and voters who speak other languages.“In Hyderabad district, political parties and officials unanimously asked for English forms. In all 15 constituencies in Hyderabad district, enumeration forms will be in English, whereas in the rest of Telangana they will be in Telugu. People facing difficulty with the language can take the help of the BLO,” Reddy said.Urban districts are expected to pose a challenge during distribution and collection. Hyderabad, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Rangareddy recorded low voter mapping during the pre-SIR exercise. Migration, locked houses, access to apartment complexes and frequent changes of residence could affect the process.Finding names in the 2002 SIR rolls has become a herculean task for many. Sanam Abhinav Goud, a voter, posted on X “Name appears in 2002 SIR electoral roll but with variations. Official documents match the updated name in the latest roll. If mapping has flagged it as an anomaly then there is an issue.”The CEO said booth-level agents appointed by political parties would act as observers and could assist BLOs in locating houses. If a house remains locked and no occupant is found, the elector may be marked as shifted.
