Hyderabad: Former Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender alleged that authorities removed around 20,000 voter names from the constituency’s electoral rolls. He demanded immediate action to correct what he called the Khairatabad voter deletion issue.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Nagender questioned the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He also asked why Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had repeatedly raised concerns about the exercise.
Nagender said election officials had issued notices to voters whose names faced deletion. He added that he did not know how many additional names authorities had removed beyond the 20,000 he cited.
The former MLA alleged that some Assistant Electoral Officers and other election officials had colluded with BJP-linked individuals to remove voters on a large scale. He said he would approach the Election Commission with a complaint.
Nagender also demanded criminal action against those allegedly involved in attempts to remove voter names. He urged officials to examine the deletion process and address complaints from affected electors.
Khairatabad voter deletion becomes issue ahead of bypoll
Nagender claimed that many voters had remained on the rolls for years, including during earlier elections, but authorities had now removed their names. He cited voters who had records dating back to 2000 and 2002.
He also said some of those voters remained on the rolls during the recent Lok Sabha election. According to Nagender, officials should protect genuine voters from what he described as “vote theft”.
The former MLA demanded that authorities reconsider every voter name deleted so far. He also called for restoration of voting rights to all eligible electors.
The Khairatabad constituency is heading towards a by-election after Nagender lost his MLA position following defection proceedings. The Telangana High Court disqualified him in September 2026, and the Supreme Court later upheld that decision. The Assembly Secretariat subsequently declared the seat vacant.
Meanwhile, the Special Intensive Revision has become a major issue in the constituency ahead of the bypoll. A recent report said the Khairatabad electorate fell from 2,93,667 before the SIR exercise to 1,70,195 in the draft rolls.
Nagender said he would submit his complaint to the Election Commission and seek action over the alleged voter deletions. The supplied statement did not include the Election Commission’s response to his allegations.