Hyderabad, Oct. 3: More than two lakh voters in Telangana have reportedly received notices under the SpecialIntensiveRevision(SIR) of electoral rolls without any reason being recorded, according to an analysis cited by The Hindu.
The report by Sabar Institute and Constitutional Guardians Forum identified 2,01,249 voters, accounting for around 2.2% of Telangana’s voter population, under the “Reason Not Recorded” category.
The analysis has raised questions about why the notices were issued and whether the reason for each case has been properly recorded in the SIR database.
Telangana SIR Data Shows Unusual Age Pattern
According to the analysis, none of the 2,01,249 voters in this category is below 35 years of age. The youngest voter is reportedly 35, while the most common age group is 42 to 50 years. The median age is 52.
The voters are also spread widely across Telangana. The analysis states that 30,971 of the State’s 36,169 polling booths have at least one voter listed under the category.
Lead researcher Sabir Ahamed said the blank reason field could indicate a coordination or data-matching gap between the electoral records and the notices served to voters.
He also pointed to the age pattern as an issue requiring clarification. Ahamed said a printing or computer error would ordinarily be expected to affect voters across different age groups.
The analysis further claims that most voters in this category are men. It suggests that the pattern could indicate that an unidentified rule or criterion was applied, although the reason itself has not been recorded.
Why Were Telangana SIR Notices Issued?
The Telangana electoral authorities have generated more than 92 lakh SIR notices for voters whose records contained anomalies or could not be mapped with the SIR 2002 electoral roll.
The categories cited in the supplied report include unmapped voters, parent-name mismatches, name mismatches, parent-age differences and unusual gaps between the ages of parents and children.
According to the figures provided, 32,37,825 voters, or 34.9%, were classified as unmapped. Another 25,97,790 cases, or 28%, involved a mismatch in the parent’s name.
A further 11,14,659 cases involved name mismatches, while 9,76,036 cases involved a parent-age difference of less than 15 years. Another 7,08,896 cases were classified under a progeny-age gap of less than nine months.
The Election Commission has now changed the process for voters receiving notices. Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharsan Reddy said Booth Level Officers would visit voters, collect supporting documents and upload them online for consideration by the ERO or AERO. In-person hearings would generally be avoided, except in exceptional cases.
Officials have also urged voters who receive notices to respond and provide the required documents. Failure to complete the verification process could affect inclusion in the final electoral roll.
The analysis of the “Reason Not Recorded” category raises a separate question about whether voters can be adequately informed about why their records were flagged. The Election Commission and Telangana electoral authorities have not, in the sources reviewed here, publicly explained the specific age pattern identified in this category.
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