Hyderabad BLOs Face Challenge As Voters Prefer Native Village Registration

Hyderabad, July 26: Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in Hyderabad are facing growing challenges during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as many urban voters are opting to retain their voter registration in their native villages instead of the city.

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The trend has affected form collection and digitisation targets set by the election authorities.

Hyderabad BLOs struggle to meet SIR targets

Under the ongoing SIR, voters are required to retain only one electoral registration. However, many people who migrated to Hyderabad from other districts have informed BLOs that they wish to keep their names only in their native villages.

According to BLOs, many voters prefer village registration because they own agricultural land or other property there. Others believe their vote carries greater importance in rural constituencies, where voter participation is generally higher than in urban areas.

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The development has increased pressure on BLOs to achieve digitisation targets.

Sources said senior officials of the Hyderabad District Election Office recently reviewed the progress of the exercise and expressed concern over areas reporting less than 40 percent form collection and digitisation. Election Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Election Registration Officers (AEROs) and BLOs were reportedly instructed to improve performance.

Some BLOs claimed they were warned of disciplinary action, including suspension, for failing to meet the prescribed targets.

Officials have also directed BLOs to collect voter ID details of people retaining registration in their villages and obtain death certificates for deceased voters. However, BLOs said many families are unwilling to share such documents, making verification difficult.

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According to field staff, the Hyderabad District Election Office has now set a target of achieving 50 percent form collection and digitisation within the next few days.

BLOs said the target remains difficult because many voters have already shifted their registration, while several others collected forms but have not submitted them. They added that election officials are under pressure to complete the exercise within the stipulated timeframe.