Published Oct 09, 2026 | 10:30 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 09, 2026 | 10:30 AM
MD Shanawaz, a resident of Karimnagar was removed from the electoral rolls and marked as 'Untraceable/Absent' despite submitting enumeration form
Synopsis: During the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Telangana, several voters who had submitted their enumeration forms couldn’t find their names in the draft rolls, and instead ended up on the ASDD list. These electors were wrongly marked as absent, untraceable, shifted, or in some cases, dead. Activists working on voter rights called the entire process of electoral revision in Telangana, an exercise of unlawful exclusion.
Syed Anwaruddin, a resident of Bandlaguda in Hyderabad, works at a printing press at the opposite end of the city, in Nacharam. Like everyone else in his family, Anwaruddin submitted his enumeration form in July, as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It had complete details, including his parents’ voter information.
However, Anwaruddin’s name was not in the draft electoral roll while everyone else in his family made it onto the list. Anwaruddin was a registered voter in the Chandrayangutta Assembly Constituency, and his name is also listed in the 2002 rolls. When he questioned the local Booth Level Officer (BLO), he said he had no idea how the mistake had happened.
Speaking to South First, Anwaruddin’s wife Wasia Begum said, “We contacted the BLO and asked why his name is not there in the rolls despite submitting the enumeration form. He said he had digitised all the forms and didn’t know why only Anwaruddin’s name was missing. He later told us to submit Form 6 to resolve this.”
When Anwaruddin finally checked the ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate) list for his polling station, his name appeared and was marked as Absent/Untraceable.
Syed Anwaruddin, marked untraceable despite submitting enumeration form
“He filled the form with all his details. We also provided his mother’s details for mapping. Her name is there in the rolls; all his brothers’ and sisters’ names are also there. How can only my husband be marked as absent?” asked Wasia.
Attempts to file a Form 6 application have also been futile, Wasia said, as the BLOs and operators at a nearby Mee Seva allegedly noted that the system was not accepting it due to an error.
Anwaruddin’s is not an isolated case. South First found multiple such instances from across Telangana where people were marked as absent, untraceable, shifted, and even dead, despite handing over their enumeration forms to the BLOs, with all the required details.
Based on the Election Commission’s data, 73.39 lakh of Telangana’s 3.38 crore electors (21.7 per cent), fall under the Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) categories. Voters marked as permanently shifted account for 45.19 lakh of them (61.6 per cent), while only 9.22 lakh are recorded as dead.
Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts hold about a third of the state’s electors but account for 43 lakh, or 58.6 per cent, of the ASDD entries. Hyderabad district recorded 40.99 per cent, with Musheerabad constituency recording highest per centage of deletions at 45.17 per cent.
A study by Sabar Institute, a Kolkata-based research organisation, found that voters with Muslim names made up 40.7 per cent of the deletions in Hyderabad. 19.8 per cent of deleted Muslim voters were marked as untraceable or absent while 7.6 per cent were marked as already enrolled or multiple entry.
It termed these two categories as containing the weakest documentary basis, and said that Muslim voters figured in these categories in much higher numbers compared to other voters. A survey conducted by their team found that 92% of the deleted voters were still alive.
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The irregularities in SIR deletions are not only limited to the Hyderabad city. Beyond Hyderabad too, many who filed their enumeration forms with complete details, ended up on the ASDD list.
Farzana, a 42-year-old voter from Korutla constituency in Jagtial district, found her name missing in the draft rolls even as her mother, husband, and rest of the family made it to the list.
Farzana’s husband Shaik Mahboob appears on the rolls, but Farzana is marked ‘permanently shifted’
“I voted in every election since I got my ID. I gave my form to BLO, but he later said my vote got deleted in online process. I heard that many people’s votes got deleted like that,” Farzana told South First.
Farzana’s brother-in-law Shaik Mukhtiyar said, “I submitted all of our family’s enumeration forms together. We were shocked to find out her name was missing. We later checked the ASDD list for our polling station and found that she is marked permanently shifted.”
MD Shanawaz, a 24-year-old Madarsa in-charge from Karimnagar found that he was removed from the voter list, but has still not been able to submit a Form 6 application.
Speaking to South First, Shanawaz said, “I submitted the enumeration form in time, with all the correct details. The BLO had accepted it. But ever since the draft rolls were published and my name was deleted, it has been difficult to get in touch with him. When I finally managed reach him by phone, he asked me to send a copy of my voter ID. I have since been trying to submit Form 6 application but have not been able to due to some error online.”
Also Read: Karnataka SIR: Voters still at home despite Form 7 claims they had ‘permanently shifted’
Similar to Shanawaz’s case, Mary Evita Bandari from Hyderabad also had difficulty connecting with her local BLO.
The 28-year-old resident of Jubilee Hills told South First that she had submitted her enumeration form along with her mother’s, but her name was deleted from the rolls while her mother received a notice due to an anomaly. She shared that she faced immense difficulty to even obtain an enumeration form in the first place.
“Back in July, some of my friends and relatives told me that their BLO had come to their home to deliver their enumeration forms. But we did not get any. It was very chalenging to get in touch with our BLO, Suhasini, who did not pick our calls. When we finally managed to get the forms, and submit them, the BLO did not even take a look at them to check if there were any mistakes,” Mary told South First.
She found her name in the ASDD list, marked as ‘permanently shifted’, despite residing in the same address mentioned in her ID proof. She said she received no notice or intimation from the BLO about the deletion.
“My mother got a call and was asked to appear for a hearing but I did not know that I was in the ASDD list until my brother checked the entire list for our polling both. If there was a mistake in my enumeration form, I should have received a notice like my mother. We both gave the same residential address. But I have been marked as permanently shifted. I did not get any call informing about my name being deleted from the rolls, and what is to be done next,” Mary said.
Syed Jalaluddin Zafar, a social activist from Youth Welfare Telangana alleged that many voters did not receive their enumerations forms and ended up on ASDD lists.
Speaking to South First, Jalaluddin said, “From our ground work, we noticed that BLOs did not deliver enumeration forms to all households. Those who did not receive the forms, then had their names missing from the draft rolls.”
He cited a case from Chandrayangutta constituency where a stack of undistributed forms was found at the local library after the enumeration phase.
Also Read: ‘SIR is a bloodless political genocide to exterminate citizenship’: Dr Parakala Prabhakar
In a shocking case from the Chandrayangutta constituency, a 24-year-olf voter found himself in the ASDD list, marked as dead. Syed Aqeel Ahmed, a resident of Falaknuma had submitted his enumeration form with all the required details but could not find a spot in the draft rolls.
Enumeration form and voter ID of Aqeel Ahmed, who is marked dead in the ASDD list
Activist Jalaluddin said this was not an isolated case.
“So this entire procedure looks like it was done in an arbitrary manner. People were marked dead, absent, or shifted permanently based on whatever the elections officials decided. There was no field verification done to establish the truth,” he said.
Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for Chandrayangutta told South First that Aqeel’s case has come to his notice only recently and is currently under review.
He said the enumeration form was digitised but it was unclear how the mistake had occurred.
Also Read: SIR: Telangana BJP booth agent booked for filing bulk Form 7 applications in Musheerabad
MA Mujeeb Ayub, a social activist working on voter rights in Telangana said the entire process of SIR in the state was conducted in an arbitrary and unlawful manner.
“It was impossible for the BLOs to complete the SIR process for an entire state with in such a short amount of time. They had strict deadlines and targets. People who are alive were ‘killed’ by the process, those whose addresses were difficult to find were marked as shifted or untraceable. Voters did not receive any information about being removed form the rolls. They have unlawfully excluded lakhs of voters through this process,” he told South First.
On ECI’s recent decision to conduct a special drive for excluded voters, Mujeeb Ayub said the commission had made a mockery out of the process.
“They made people panic, caused them severe distress, and had them running from pillar to post trying to save their votes. Now they are calling for a special drive? Is this a joke? Are you playing with the people? Also, does this mean they are admitting to their mistakes?” he asked.
Ayub argued that if the ECI “actually wanted” to fix the errors in the SIR process, it should notify a special draft list, issue notices to people, and conduct hearings. He said he will challenge the deletions in court.
“If they finalise the electoral roll without correction it will cause prejudice against the voters who got wrongly marked under ASDD,” he said.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
