Telangana graduate MLC voter enrolment crosses 12 lakh

Hyderabad: Close to 12.7 lakh graduates have applied to enrol as voters in Telangana’s two Graduates’ constituencies that go to the polls next year, a sharp rise over the 2021 exercise.

By the November 6 cut-off, the Mahbubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad constituency had received 5,99,419 applications. Warangal-Khammam–Nalgonda drew more, at 6,70,407.

The terms of the current members end in March 2027. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the poll schedule in February.

Bulk of forms yet to be cleared

Verification has a long way to go. More than 8.4 lakh applications across the two constituencies are still pending.

In Mahbubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad, 4,60,568 forms are awaiting a decision and 3,474 have been rejected. Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda has 3,86,369 pending applications and 13,503 rejections. That takes total rejections to 16,977.

Election officials have stepped up scrutiny and roll preparation to stay on schedule.

Warangal sees bigger jump

The response has been stronger than in 2021, when Mahbubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad received around 5.67 lakh applications and Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda around 5.63 lakh.

That puts Mahbubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad up by about 32,000 this time. Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda is up by more than 1 lakh.

Key dates

Under the ECI schedule, the draft rolls will be printed by November 20 and published on November 25. Claims and objections can be filed between November 25 and December 10 and will be disposed of by December 25. The final rolls will be published on December 30. 

Graduates who could not apply by November 6 have not lost their chance. The Chief Electoral Officer has clarified that Form-18 will be accepted during the claims and objections period, and again after the final rolls are out. 

The rolls are being prepared from scratch this time, so being on the list earlier does not guarantee a place on the new one, and applicants have to submit their qualification details again. To be eligible, a person must have completed a degree or equivalent diploma at least three years before November 1, 2026, and must be an ordinary resident of the constituency. 

Applications can be filed online through the Chief Electoral Officer, Telangana website. Forms can also be handed in with the required documents to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) or designated officers.

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