Kavitha flags 1 lakh voter changes in Revanth Reddy's Kodangal seat, seeks EC reply
Synopsis
TRS leader K. Kavitha has put the Election Commission on notice over Kodangal — Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's own seat. With 1 lakh voter details allegedly altered in 18 months, 22,433 duplicate entries, and 11,000 voters reportedly on Karnataka's rolls too, the numbers she cites exceed the 2023 winning margin — making this a direct challenge to the legitimacy of that result.
Key Takeaways
Kavitha (TRS) demanded a public clarification from the Election Commission of India on Monday over voter roll changes in Kodangal .
1 lakh of Kodangal's 2.46 lakh voters allegedly had their details modified in the past 18 months .
TRS claims 22,433 duplicate voter entries exist in Kodangal — more than the 2023 election winning margin .
Approximately 11,000 voters are allegedly enrolled in both Kodangal and Karnataka's Sedam Assembly constituency .
Only 808 votes were reportedly deleted in Kodangal recently, versus nearly 7,000 in Bodhan — a disparity Kavitha flagged as suspicious.
Kavitha called for a 'One Nation, One Election, One Vote' framework to prevent inter-state duplicate registrations.
Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) leader K. Kavitha on Monday demanded a public clarification from the Election Commission of India (ECI) over what she described as large-scale alterations to voter details in Kodangal constituency, the seat held by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. Citing records compiled by her party, Kavitha alleged that 1 lakh of the constituency's 2.46 lakh registered voters had their details modified over the past 18 months.
Key Allegations Raised
According to Kavitha, TRS's scrutiny of the electoral rolls identified 22,433 duplicate voter entries in Kodangal — a figure she noted exceeds the winning margin in the 2023 Assembly election. She further alleged that approximately 11,000 voters appear to be simultaneously enrolled in Kodangal and the neighbouring Sedam Assembly constituency in Karnataka, raising questions about the ECI's ability to detect inter-state duplication.
Kavitha, a former Member of Parliament, told reporters that the Commission must explain how changes of this scale went undetected. 'It's not just money that is crossing from Karnataka into Telangana. Are votes also being transferred?' she asked.
Scrutiny of the SIR Exercise
The TRS leader questioned the effectiveness of the ECI's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, arguing that if inter-state duplicate voters remain on rolls, the exercise's core purpose is undermined. She also pointed to a disparity in deletions: only 808 votes were reportedly removed in Kodangal in recent years, while she claimed nearly 7,000 votes were removed in Bodhan constituency — a seat from which she is reportedly likely to contest the next Assembly election.
What the Election Commission Has Not Said
As of the time of Kavitha's press address, the Election Commission of India had not issued a public response to the allegations. Kavitha said the Commission should 'respond to this matter and reveal all the details to the public,' and added that doubts were being expressed about whether the ECI was acting favourably toward the Chief Minister — a charge the Commission has not commented on.
Broader Reform Demand
Beyond the Kodangal-specific allegations, Kavitha called for systemic electoral reform, advocating for a framework she described as 'One Nation, One Election, One Vote' — under which every eligible citizen would hold only one valid voter registration regardless of migration history. She argued the current system's inability to flag inter-state duplication makes such reform urgent.
The ECI's response, if any, is likely to determine whether the controversy over Kodangal's electoral rolls escalates ahead of the next round of roll revisions.
Point of View
Not just administrative efficiency. Yet the allegations come from a party with a direct stake in delegitimising the current Telangana government, which means independent verification by the ECI is the only thing that can settle this either way. The Commission's silence so far is itself a story. India's voter roll deduplication infrastructure has long struggled with inter-state migration, and the SIR exercise was supposed to fix precisely this problem. If Kodangal is emblematic rather than exceptional, the credibility of the entire revision drive is in question.
NationPress
29 Jun 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What are K. Kavitha's allegations about Kodangal's voter list?
Kavitha alleges that 1 lakh of Kodangal's 2.46 lakh voters had their details changed in the past 18 months, that 22,433 duplicate entries exist, and that around 11,000 voters are simultaneously registered in Karnataka's Sedam constituency. She has demanded the Election Commission of India explain how these changes occurred.
Why does this matter for the 2023 Telangana Assembly election result?
Kavitha pointed out that the number of alleged duplicate entries — over 22,433 — exceeds the winning margin in Kodangal in the 2023 election. She argued this raises questions about whether duplicate or inter-state votes influenced the outcome in Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's constituency.
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise?
The SIR is an Election Commission of India drive to clean up and update electoral rolls by identifying and removing ineligible, duplicate, or incorrectly registered voters. Kavitha argued that if inter-state duplicates remain undetected after the SIR, the exercise has failed its primary purpose.
Has the Election Commission responded to Kavitha's allegations?
As of Kavitha's press address, the Election Commission of India had not issued a public response. She called on the Commission to address the matter transparently and release all relevant data to the public.
What electoral reform did Kavitha propose?
Kavitha called for a 'One Nation, One Election, One Vote' system, under which each eligible citizen would hold only a single valid voter registration regardless of where they have migrated. She said this is the only structural fix to prevent inter-state duplicate enrollments.
