Hyderabad, August 17: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday published the draft electoral rolls for all 119 Assembly constituencies in Telangana following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration exercise, with 2.65 crore electors submitting Enumeration Forms.
The draft rolls were released during a meeting between Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharsan Reddy, IAS, and representatives of recognised political parties on August 17. Additional CEO Dr Vasam Venkateswar Reddy, IAS, Government Additional Secretary and MNO N. Shankar, Deputy CEO (FAC) G. S. Chary, PM (IT) nodal officers and other officials from the CEO Telangana office also participated.
The development comes after a series of revisions to the SIR schedule and a controversy over the Telangana government’s newly introduced Family Register Certificate (FRC), which the ECI subsequently clarified could not be treated as a designated document for SIR verification.
The SIR enumeration in Telangana was conducted from June 25 to August 10, 2026. Out of 3,38,26,448 electors, 2,64,87,213 Enumeration Forms, representing 78.30 per cent of the electorate, were collected. The exercise also identified 9,22,229 deceased electors, 57,46,803 permanently shifted, absent or other electors, and 6,70,203 electors enrolled at multiple places.
2.65 crore forms collected
According to the CEO’s office, the enumeration phase saw 2,64,87,213 forms collected, equivalent to 78.30 per cent of the State’s 3,38,26,448 electors. The remaining cases include deceased, shifted, absent and duplicate electors.
The exercise involved 33 District Election Officers, 119 Electoral Registration Officers, 892 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, 3,590 BLO Supervisors and 35,985 Booth Level Officers. Recognised political parties also appointed 49,018 Booth Level Agents to participate in the exercise.
The political parties’ participation included 20,394 BLAs from BRS, 13,144 from Congress, 11,621 from BJP, 2,382 from AIMIM, 608 from CPI(M), 569 from BSP and 300 from TDP.
Family Register Certificate (FRC) controversy
The electoral-roll exercise was accompanied by a controversy over the Family Register Certificate (FRC) introduced by the by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy through GO Ms. No. 172 on July 25.
On July 27, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi welcomed the move to issue FRCs through MeeSeva and said they could be used as one of the 12 documents for SIR. The BJP objected, and on July 28 approached the ECI, questioning the certificate’s validity for SIR and its reliance on Food Security Card data.
On August 11, the ECI clarified that the new FRC issued under GO Ms. No. 172 would not be accepted as a designated SIR document. It distinguished the new certificate from Family Member Certificates issued under the earlier 2013 system following document verification and local enquiry. Such certificates issued before July 25, 2026, however, would remain acceptable.
The controversy came amid a rush for FRCs in Hyderabad. By August 13, around 5.97 lakh applications had reportedly been filed, of which 3.15 lakh were approved and around 2,100 rejected.
Draft rolls open for scrutiny
The CEO’s office said booth-wise lists of Absent, Shifted, Death and Duplicate (ASDD) electors whose names have not been included in the draft roll have been displayed at ERO/AERO offices, Gram Panchayat and municipal offices and polling stations. The lists, along with probable reasons for non-inclusion, have also been uploaded on the CEO Telangana and respective DEO websites.
The claims and objections period will run from August 17 to September 16. Electors who were unable to submit their Enumeration Forms during the enumeration phase can seek inclusion by filing Form 6 along with the prescribed Declaration Form. Corrections to electoral particulars and objections to wrongful inclusion can also be filed during this period.
The Election Commission has also made clear that there will be no deletion without due process. An ERO/AERO must issue notice, conduct an inquiry and provide a fair and reasonable opportunity to the concerned elector before ordering deletion. Appeals can subsequently be filed before the District Election Officer and, thereafter, before the Chief Electoral Officer.
Parties’ positions in brief
The Congress government in Telangana introduced the new Family Register Certificate on July 25, while AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi publicly welcomed the move on July 27 and described the FRC as an accepted SIR document.
The BJP opposed its use in SIR verification and approached the ECI on July 28, raising concerns about the certificate’s timing and its reliance on Food Security Card data. The ECI’s August 11 clarification subsequently ruled that the new FRC could not be treated as a designated SIR verification document.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has called upon all recognised political parties to actively scrutinise the draft rolls and participate in the claims and objections process to ensure that no eligible elector is left out while ineligible entries are not retained.
The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on October 19, 2026.
