Telangana CEO says voter names will not be deleted without verification

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy has said voter names will not be removed from electoral rolls without scrutiny and verification, following allegations of pre-printed applications for bulk deletions in Musheerabad constituency. The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee complained about a Bharatiya Janata Party booth-level agent who allegedly submitted Form-7 applications seeking the deletion of a Congress booth-level agent and more than 30 members of his family.

The names and address were reportedly pre-printed, with only the applicant’s name handwritten. The TPCC said the forms raised concerns about a wider effort targeting Congress leaders and supporters during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. It sought an investigation and action against those responsible.

Reddy said bulk applications submitted by any person would undergo thorough scrutiny before any deletion. He said the submission of a Form-7 application did not itself result in the removal of a voter’s name. The Election Commission has said a registered voter in a constituency may submit multiple forms, but a person filing more than five objections will trigger a mandatory review by the Electoral Registration Officer.

Where a voter’s mobile number is linked to the EPIC number, an SMS will alert the voter to a deletion application. The abstract of Form-7 applications will be displayed on the ERO’s notice board for seven days. A hearing notice will also be served on both the objector and the person whose deletion is proposed, either personally, by registered post or by affixing the notice at the person’s residence.

For death-related applications, officials may rely on an official death certificate, a verified list from the Registrar of Births and Deaths or a report from a booth-level officer. Reddy said deletion would not occur in such cases unless field verification confirmed the death where official records did not establish it.