Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has leveled serious allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He accused the party of executing a calculated scheme to delete Congress votes across the state.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, the Chief Minister claimed the conspiracy operates through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Reddy labeled the exercise as an institutional attempt at “vote theft,”.
He warned that the Union government is attempting to secure a backdoor entry into Telangana. The Chief Minister alleged that the exercise selectively targets traditional supporters of the ruling Congress party ahead of upcoming electoral battles.
Allegations of Systematic Electoral Manipulation
Revanth said the electoral revision is being weaponized against vulnerable demographics. Specifically, he alleged that voters from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Backward Classes (BC), and minority communities face disproportionate disenfranchisement.
The Chief Minister argued that genuine voters are being removed under technical pretexts. He claimed that booth-level machinery is being pressured to eliminate legitimate citizens from the electoral rolls.
Furthermore, Reddy claimed that the BJP cannot defeat Congress democratically in Telangana. Consequently, he alleged the party has resorted to manipulating voter databases. He asserted that removing established voters remains the BJP’s primary pathway to alter constituency arithmetic.
Scale of the Controversy: Over 73 Lakh Electors Flagged
The scale of potential voter exclusion has raised significant political alarm across the state. Official records reveal that over 73 lakh electors have been categorized under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate (ASDD) list during the preliminary enumeration phase.
Some estimates place the number of flagged electors as high as 92.86 lakh. This figure accounts for over 21 percent of Telangana’s total voter base of 3.38 crore citizens.
Reddy questioned how more than one-fifth of the state’s electorate could be marked for potential deletion without thorough scrutiny. He cautioned that dropping names en masse without strict verification violates constitutional voting rights.
Representation to Chief Election Commissioner
In response to the developments, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy dispatched an urgent formal letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
In the representation, Reddy pointed out that Telangana has no immediate elections scheduled. Therefore, he argued that rushed summary deletions risk creating widespread administrative chaos and public mistrust.
The Chief Minister demanded an immediate four-week extension of the deadline for citizens to file claims and objections. He urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to mandate physical, door-to-door verification before removing any voter from the registry, as reported by The Hindu.
He stressed that every citizen marked under the ASDD category must receive individual notice. Without personal hearings, he warned, mass deletions would remain unconstitutional.
Parallel Drawn with Non-BJP Ruled States
Drawing national political parallels, Revanth Reddy alleged that Telangana is not an isolated experiment. He claimed the BJP previously used similar revision exercises in opposition-governed states like West Bengal and Bihar.
According to Reddy, the strategy involves pruning voter lists in assembly segments where opposition parties maintain dominant margins.
The Chief Minister declared that Telangana’s electorate would resist any attempt to subvert democratic processes. He noted that state authorities would compile exhaustive evidence of arbitrary deletions to submit before judicial and regulatory authorities.
Congress Mobilizes Booth-Level Cadre
To counter the suspected deletions, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee has issued emergency directives to its statewide organization.
The party’s operational plan includes:
- Door-to-Door Verification: Congress workers will cross-examine the published ASDD lists against physical households in every booth.
- Filing Objections: Party legal teams will assist flagged citizens in submitting Form 6 and Form 8 applications.
- Public Helpdesks: Dedicated centers will operate in rural and semi-urban pockets to verify registration statuses.
Reddy warned administrative staff against acting under political bias. He reiterated that any officer participating in unauthorized voter deletions would face strict statutory accountability.
Curated news reports, in-depth analysis, and special features by India’s Opinion editorial team.
