The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has raised a sharp alarm over the sluggish pace of voter enrolment for the Telangana Legislative Council's two Graduates' Constituencies elections, scheduled for March 2027, warning that lakhs of eligible graduates risk being disenfranchised due to administrative inertia and procedural hurdles. A senior BRS delegation met C. Sudarshan Reddy, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Telangana, on Monday, 26 October 2026, and submitted a detailed representation outlining systemic failures.

The Enrolment Shortfall

The two constituencies in question — Mahabubnagar–Rangareddy–Hyderabad and Warangal–Khammam–Nalgonda — had a combined electorate of 10.36 lakh in the 2021 elections. So far, only 5,23,758 applications have been received, representing just 50.56% of the earlier electorate. The BRS argued that this figure is particularly troubling given that thousands of new graduates have entered the eligible pool over the intervening six years.

At the current daily processing rate of 18,700 applications per day, the total is projected to reach only around 7.7 lakh by the 6 November 2026 deadline — barely 74% of the 2021 electorate. The party called this a clear indicator of systemic administrative failure.

Verification Backlog and Rejection Risk

Of the 5.23 lakh applications received, a striking 94.72% — totalling 4,96,112 applications — remain pending field verification. The situation is most acute in the Mahabubnagar–Rangareddy–Hyderabad constituency, where the pendency rate stands at an alarming 97.91%, with 2,25,133 out of 2,29,937 applications yet to be processed.

Statewide, only 26,085 applications — a mere 4.98% of total received and 2.52% of the 2021 electorate — have been approved so far. Compounding concerns, the current rejection rate among decided applications stands at 5.71%. If this rate persists, BRS estimates that more than 28,000 legitimate applications could be rejected.

Root Causes Identified by BRS

The party pointed to a cluster of procedural and awareness failures driving the shortfall. Without clear government directives, Gazetted Officers are reportedly refusing to authenticate educational certificates, forcing applicants on exhausting bureaucratic rounds. Many graduates are unaware that after submitting online applications, physical copies attested by a Gazetted Officer must still be submitted at Tahsildar or AERO offices.

Notably, Hyderabad district, which accounts for 25.8% of the 656 polling stations in the Mahabubnagar–Rangareddy–Hyderabad constituency, contributed only 11.2% of total applications received — a sign that the Election Commission has failed to reach IT professionals and urban employees. Unlike general Assembly voter revisions, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have not been assigned specific targets, door-to-door verification duties, or help desks for graduate enrolment.

BRS Demands: Extension and Systemic Reform

The delegation — which included former Minister and MLA Talasani Srinivas Yadav, MLA Kaleru Venkatesh, MLC Dr Dasoju Sravan Kumar, and MLC Surabhi Vani Devi — presented a charter of demands to the CEO. These include extending the current 6 November 2026 deadline by at least one month, and publicising that eligible graduates may still apply during the claims and objections window (25 November–10 December 2026) and through continuous updation.

BRS also demanded that the Chief Secretary issue an immediate directive compelling all Gazetted Officers to verify original certificates and attest photocopies free of cost. Dedicated attestation desks with public display boards should be set up at all Tahsildar, MPDO, and GHMC circle offices, as well as government degree colleges. Digitally signed certificates via DigiLocker or the National Academic Depository (NAD) should be accepted without additional physical attestation, and direct electronic verification through state university databases should be enabled.

Further, the party demanded that graduates already enrolled on the 2021 rolls — since graduation is a permanent qualification — be exempted from resubmitting educational certificates and required only to furnish Form 18 and current proof of residence.

Political Warning

Former Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav warned that if the authorities fail to act on the charter of demands, BRS will escalate its agitation on the ground to defend graduates' democratic rights. The BRS framed the issue as one of constitutional significance, arguing that Graduates' Constituencies exist precisely to give an informed, educated voice representation in the Telangana Legislative Council — a purpose that is being undermined by the present administrative lapses.

With the deadline fast approaching and verification backlogs mounting, the coming days will be critical in determining whether meaningful corrective action is taken before lakhs of eligible graduates are effectively locked out of the electoral process.