Election Calls Intrude People's Personal Time

Hyderabad: With just two days to go for the polls, Hyderabadis are bombarded with a barrage of annoying election-related calls.'

Srestha P., an employee at a multinational corporation, expressed her exasperation after receiving a relentless stream of calls urging her to vote for a specific party. "One of them came pretty late at night, and I took it thinking it could be an emergency call," she said.

T. Shanti Kumar, a retired employee, shared a similar experience. "Despite my constituency being in Chevella, I've received calls about candidates in Goshamahal and Serilingampally," he revealed.

Those getting the calls are marking them as spam. Aman Velpula, an engineer, voiced concern about the misuse of private information obtained at several placeds, saying, "We are forced to give out our details at restaurants or other places, who then sell the data to be used like this."

The calls seem to be predominantly recorded messages from candidates directly targeting constituents. In some instances, residents have reported survey calls, prompting voters to press specific numbers corresponding to their preferred party. Velpula condemned this practice as 'dangerous and unlawful'.

Shanti Kumar also spoke one call giving out where information about rallies near his home was provided — clearing indicating the callers know his location.

Some also reported an influx of SMS messages containing detailed information about their polling booths, candidates, and party symbols. The seemingly personalised nature of these messages added another layer of concern for voters already grappling with what they perceive as intrusive campaign tactics.