More than 45 lakh voters in Telangana have been found to have permanently shifted to other states, the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) C. Sudharsan Reddy disclosed on Tuesday, 11 August, a day after the deadline for submitting enumeration forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process closed. The revelation comes as officials released a detailed breakdown of Absent, Shifted or Dead (ASD) voters across the state.

Scale of the SIR Exercise

Out of a total voter base of 3,38,26,448, enumeration forms for 2,64,87,214 voters — or 78.30% — were successfully digitised by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during door-to-door visits. The remaining 21.70%, amounting to 73,39,234 voters, did not submit forms and were classified as uncollectable.

Of this uncollectable pool, 9,22,230 voters were confirmed dead, while 11,25,546 were found absent or untraceable. A further 45,18,916 had permanently shifted out of state, 6,70,203 were already enrolled elsewhere, and 1,02,294 fell into other categories.

Hyderabad Worst Hit, Yadadri Bhongiri Tops

Hyderabad recorded the lowest digitisation rate among all districts at just 58.89%. Out of 47,36,669 electors in the state capital, forms for only 27,89,214 voters were completed, leaving approximately 19.47 lakh voters in Hyderabad facing potential deletion from the rolls.

At the other end of the spectrum, Yadadri Bhongiri district led all 33 districts in Telangana with a digitisation rate of 94.31%. Election officials have also flagged anomalies in the forms of approximately 60 lakh voters, who are likely to receive formal notices.

Key Dates: Draft Rolls to Final Publication

The draft electoral rolls are scheduled for publication on 17 August. The window for filing claims and objections will run from 17 August to 16 September, with the notice and disposal phase extending through 15 October. The final publication of the revised rolls is set for 19 October.

BRS Raises Alarm Over Voter Deletions

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao convened a meeting with the party's SIR committee on Tuesday to assess ground-level challenges in the revision process. Addressing reporters afterwards, Rama Rao expressed alarm that roughly 73 to 74 lakh voter entries remain classified as uncollectable with no response received.

He warned that if the process runs its course without intervention, only approximately 2 crore votes would remain free of issues. Rama Rao stressed that ensuring not a single eligible voter is unjustly removed was 'of the utmost importance.' The party has consulted its legal cell and plans to hold district-wise meetings following the publication of the draft rolls, with legal action being considered to protect affected voters.

What Happens Next

With the draft rolls due on 17 August, political parties, civil society groups, and individual voters will have a month to raise objections. The scale of potential deletions — particularly in Hyderabad — is likely to draw intense scrutiny. How the Election Commission processes the roughly 60 lakh anomaly notices will be the defining test of the SIR's credibility.