Form 18 data reaching private hands: Telangana CEO orders probe

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) C Sudarshan Reddy on Monday, October 26, ordered an inquiry into complaints that personal details submitted by graduates enrolling for the Legislative Council polls were being passed on to private parties, directing officials to book cases against those responsible.

District election officers in the Mahabubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad and Warangal–Khammam–Nalgonda Graduates’ constituencies have been told to find out whether private persons have set up any website for the purpose and to take action against the “culprits,” an official release said.

Political parties had complained about the data sharing. They also alleged that Booth Level Officers (BLO) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AERO) were often unavailable, and that designated officers were attesting documents without properly checking the originals.

The CEO took up the complaints at a video conference with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner RV Karnan, who is also the Hyderabad District Election Officer (DEO), and with DEOs and Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) of the two constituencies.

He noted that enrolment was low and that the disposal of Form-18 applications was “very low.” He directed officials to speed up the process and clear all pending Form-18 applications by November 6 without fail.

Enrolment open till nominations

The CEO said enrolment in the graduates’ constituencies is a continuous process that stays open until the last date of nominations, except during the claims and objections period. He asked officials to make this widely known so that more graduates apply.

The daily count of Form-18 applications received and disposed of will be put up on notice boards and shared with recognised political parties and the media from time to time, the release said.

Designated officers were asked to verify documents properly and to make sure applicants affix good-quality photographs.

About 3.55 lakh applications had been received in the two constituencies by October 15, against 10.36 lakh voters on the 2021 rolls, according to figures released by the CEO’s office earlier.

SIR progress

Reviewing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the CEO said he was satisfied with the progress, except in a few districts that need to clear pending anomalies and cases of electors who could not be mapped.

Notices were still to be delivered in some Assembly constituencies, while others had recorded a large number of rejections. The CEO directed that speaking orders, which are orders giving reasons, be issued in such cases. Rejections over logical discrepancies and mapping issues are to be verified again.

He also asked officials to clear pending Form-6, 6A, 7 and 8 applications quickly and to maintain records properly at the booth and ERO levels.

Officers who deviate from Election Commission guidelines will face disciplinary action, the CEO warned.

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