Hyderabad, June 24 (RAHNUMA): In a renewed push to uphold the “One Person, One Vote” principle, the BRS party has formally requested the Election Commission of India to prioritise the identification and removal of duplicate voter registrations during the current Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The BRS party contends that the effectiveness of the SIR process hinges not only on updating existing records but crucially on identifying and purging individuals who are registered multiple times, have relocated, are deceased, or are otherwise ineligible to vote.
A delegation comprising prominent BRS leaders, including MLC Dasoju Sravan, former MLC Karne Prabhakar, and general secretary Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy, presented their concerns to Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharshan Reddy at BRK Bhavan in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Their submitted representation highlighted that duplicate and multiple voter registrations significantly erode the integrity and fairness of electoral processes.
The BRS pointed out that Hyderabad’s prominence as a national hub for employment and education contributes to a situation where individuals from across the country might be registered to vote multiple times.
Furthermore, the BRS party emphasised the unique challenge stemming from Telangana’s bifurcation from Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Ongoing migration and persistent social, educational, and business ties between the two states have resulted in many individuals being registered as voters in both regions.
To address this, the BRS advocated for a collaborative framework between the Chief Electoral Officers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to systematically detect and eliminate cross-state duplicate registrations. They also proposed a technology-driven national verification initiative, incorporating de-duplication software, text analysis, facial recognition checks, and Aadhaar-Voter ID linkage verification.
The party further called for stringent on-the-ground verification by Booth Level Officers and Electoral Registration Officers in cases where duplicate or migrated voters are suspected.
The BRS stressed that any deletions from the electoral rolls must strictly adhere to due process and legal provisions. They underscored the importance of ensuring that no legitimate voter is removed without prior notification, thorough investigation, and adherence to established procedures. The party urged the Election Commission to issue explicit directives to election authorities to guarantee transparency and accountability throughout the entire revision process.
