Register every eligible grad as voter: Talasani to EC officials

Hyderabad: BRS Legislature Party (BRSLP) Deputy Leader Talasani Srinivas Yadav has urged Election Commission (EC) officials to take the initiative to register every eligible graduate as a voter.

A delegation of BRS representatives, led by Talasani Srinivas Yadav, met Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) C Sudarshan Reddy at BRK Bhavan and submitted a formal representation over delays in graduate voter registration and the Election Commission’s alleged failure to fulfil its responsibilities.

Later, speaking at a press conference along with MLCs Dasoju Sravan and Surabhi Vani Devi, and MLA Kaleru Venkatesh, Srinivas Yadav asserted that the voter registration drive must be conducted under the direct supervision of the Election Commission.

He criticised the authorities for failing to appoint Booth Level Officers (BLOs) even as the November 6 deadline for graduate voter registration approaches. He pointed out that the registration process should have been undertaken in coordination with Central and State government employees, but no such steps had been taken.

Yadav said the Election Commission’s failure to conduct publicity and awareness campaigns on voter registration reflected a lack of responsibility. He added that officials had no answer when asked why people who had voted in previous graduate elections were required to register again.

He questioned the reasonableness of the Election Commission’s claim that only 23,000 applications had been received so far for the current graduate constituency elections, when 1,10,000 voters had been registered within Hyderabad city limits during the previous elections.

While the Election Commission announced that 5.27 lakh applications had been received across the combined districts of Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Mahabubnagar, the verification process was yet to begin, he said. He alleged that the Commission was acting as though graduates were not even citizens of the country.

Accusing the Election Commission of neglecting its duties, Yadav said the BRS had taken the initiative to collect applications from graduates.

However, when the party submitted the applications to officials, they refused to accept them in bulk, insisting that applicants appear in person.

He also criticised the Election Commission for its alleged indifference towards the deletion of lakhs of votes during the Special Summary Revision (SSR) process.

The BRS demanded that the Election Commission of India act responsibly, appoint adequate staff and conduct door-to-door outreach to ensure that every eligible graduate was registered as a voter. The BRS leaders also complained that Congress candidates were registering voters through their websites.

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K Chandrasekhar

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