Hyderabad SIR flags 19.4 lakh voters for deletion, 4 in 10 have Muslim names

More than four in 10 names marked for deletion from Hyderabad’s electoral rolls belong to people with Muslim names, according to a preliminary analysis of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

The study by the Sabar Institute and Constitutional Guardians Forum identified 1,941,444 electors across Hyderabad’s 15 Assembly constituencies as being marked for deletion. The figure accounts for about 46.1 per cent of the city’s January 2023 electoral roll.

The analysis, first reported by Maktoob Media, found that 40.7 per cent of the flagged entries belonged to people with Muslim names. The researchers, however, noted that this was an estimate based on name matching, as the Election Commission does not publish electoral data by religion.

According to the study, 69.3 per cent of the proposed deletions were classified as permanently shifted, while 17.5 per cent were marked untraceable or absent. Another 5.1 per cent were listed as deceased and 5.1 per cent as already enrolled elsewhere.

The distribution varied sharply across constituencies. Bahadurpura recorded the highest proportion of Muslim-named entries among the proposed deletions at 85.9 per cent, while Secunderabad Cantonment recorded 12.1 per cent, according to the analysis.

In Malakpet, 147,799 names were marked for deletion against 132,024 votes polled in the 2023 Assembly election. In Yakutpura, 154,982 names were flagged against 140,434 votes polled.

The study also found that 19.8 per cent of Muslim-named entries were classified as untraceable or absent, compared with 16 per cent among the remaining entries. Women accounted for 49.5 per cent of the Muslim-named deletions, while the dataset included 165 transgender electors among all proposed deletions.

The Hyderabad figures come amid a wider political dispute in Telangana over the SIR exercise. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on August 28 seeking more time for the claims and objections process.

Reddy pointed to concerns over electors classified as permanently shifted, saying they were not receiving the same formal notice as those flagged for data anomalies. He also noted that Hyderabad, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Rangareddy account for about a third of the state's electors but nearly 59 per cent of flagged entries.

Reddy has separately alleged an organised attempt to remove voters from the rolls in the three districts and asked Congress booth-level workers to verify voters door to door.

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has also urged residents to check their names on the rolls and keep the necessary documents ready.

The Sabar Institute said removal from an electoral roll does not affect a person's citizenship, but argued that the exercise could have significant consequences because electoral documents are often used alongside other records to access welfare benefits.

The researchers have called for an independent national audit of the SIR process, covering deletions, appeals and the time taken to adjudicate claims. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 1.