Telangana: Names of Many Voters Missing in Electoral Rolls

Hyderabad: Several people across the state found themselves in an unusual position, when they went to vote only to find that their names were missing in the electoral rolls. This led to chaos in some places.

Prakash Singh, a resident of Nampally, expressed his disappointment when he couldn’t find his name in the rolls and said "I've been a permanent resident here. I have been voting for the last 15 years. This is incredibly frustrating, and I feel like my voice isn't being heard.”

Zafar Khan discovered upon arrival at a voting booth in the Secunderabad Assembly segment that his name was missing from the electoral list despite confirming it online.

"I checked my name and serial number on the ECI website last night. Today, I find myself disenfranchised. Names of my entire family’s voters were there except mine," he lamented.

People got into an argument with the polling staff in Sakkubai Memorial School in Shaikpet citing that, their names have been deleted. However, the polling staff with the help of officials brought the situation under control.

Ironically, many of those who cast their vote in the Assembly elections just five months back couldn’t find their names. Some minor arguments occurred in polling booths regarding the issue.

A user on X posted that his wife could not vote as her name was deleted. He tweeted “Her vote was deleted without any intimation and there is no help from the local election commission for casting her vote today (sic).”

Social activist S.Q. Masood said that 10 names of his family, including his, were deleted from the electoral rolls.

More than 1.67 lakh voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls in April. Names of people with duplications, have shifted homes or are not alive have been deleted from the lists. But, the latest incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of voter deletion processes.