TPCC lists pre-printed requests for mass deletion; The CEO excludes deletion without verification

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy briefed the press about the special intensive review at BRKR Bhavan, Hyderabad on Thursday. | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL

A complaint to Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy by the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) about pre-printed applications for mass erasure of names of voters in Musheerabad constituency has opened a can of worms, adding to fears that a section of the electorate will be targeted during the Special Intensive Scrutiny (SIR).

Allegations are made regarding requests for mass deletion of voters during the claim and objection phase of the SIR in Karnataka.

The fresh allegations in Telangana are related to a stall-level application by a Bharatiya Janata Party agent from Musheerabad constituency, who is submitting an application to delete the BLA of the Congress party and more than 30 of his family members.

The names of all family members along with the address were pre-printed on the forms, only the applicant’s name was handwritten, raising suspicions of a large-scale political conspiracy.

On its behalf, the TPCC expressed serious concerns about the pre-printed application forms being prepared and circulated widely targeting Congress leaders and their supporters and suspected that the BLAs may have obtained the material through party channels. She tried to thoroughly investigate the matter and take action against the perpetrator.

Thorough inspection

Mr. Reddy said mass voter deletion requests submitted by anyone would undergo thorough scrutiny before the deletion takes place.

While the Election Commission of India has clarified that any registered voter in a particular constituency can submit any number of forms, it has also said that one person filing more than five objections will trigger a mandatory review by the Electoral Registration Officer.

Mere submission of Form-7 does not remove a person from the rolls without proper authentication and verification, the CEO said in response to queries.

If the voter’s mobile number is linked to his EPIC number, he will be sent an SMS notifying him of the deletion request. A list of Form 7 applications will be displayed on the ERO notice board for seven days. Furthermore, the notice of the hearing will be delivered to both the objector and the person whose name is proposed to be deleted, either directly in person or by registered mail or by posting it at the person’s place of residence.

A death certificate from the relevant authority obtained by the BLO or submitted by a family member or a list of deceased voters obtained from the birth and death registry database will be accepted as authentic proof of the voter’s death.

Where a death is not identified from these records, field verification of the BLO becomes important. Mr. Reddy assured that in every single case of death filed in Form 7, unless confirmed by a report from the BLO, deletion will not be done.

Published – 01 Oct 2026 21:30 IST