Hyderabad, Oct 26 — Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has expressed grave concern over the sluggish and chaotic pace of voter enrolment for the upcoming biennial elections to the two Graduates' Constituencies of the Telangana Legislative Council scheduled for March 2027.
The party warned that due to the inaction of the Election Commission’s field machinery, hurdles created by officials in the name of attestation, technical obstacles, and an unduly compressed timeline, lakhs of eligible graduates are at serious risk of losing their fundamental right to vote.
A delegation of senior BRS leaders met C. Sudarshan Reddy, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Telangana, on Monday and submitted a comprehensive representation.
The delegation comprised former Minister and MLA Talasani Srinivas Yadav, MLA Kaleru Venkatesh, MLC Dr Dasoju Sravan Kumar and MLC Surabhi Vani Devi, alongside several other key BRS leaders and representatives.
BRS voiced concern over a severe slump in voter registration in Mahabubnagar–Rangareddy–Hyderabad and Warangal–Khammam–Nalgonda constituencies. While 10.36 lakh electors were registered across these two constituencies in the 2021 elections, only 5,23,758 applications have been received so far (just 50.56% of the earlier electorate). Despite thousands of new graduates emerging over the past six years, the number of applications dropping to nearly half highlights systemic administrative failure.
At the current daily rate (18,700 applications/day), the total will reach only around 7.7 lakh by November 6, which is barely 74% of the 2021 electorate, it said.
BRS mentioned that out of the 5.23 lakh applications received, a staggering 94.72% (4,96,112 applications) are still gathering dust without completing field verification. In the Mahabubnagar–Rangareddy–Hyderabad constituency, the pendency rate is at an alarming 97.91% (2,25,133 out of 2,29,937 applications remain pending). Statewide, only 26,085 applications (4.98%) have been approved so far, representing a meagre 2.52% of the 2021 electorate.
According to BRS representation, although Hyderabad district accounts for 25.8% (169 booths) of the 656 polling stations in the Mahabubnagar–Rangareddy–Hyderabad constituency, it contributed only 11.2% (17,165) of the total applications received.
The Election Commission has failed to create even minimal awareness among IT professionals and urban employees, it said.
The opposition party claimed that there is a threat of mass rejections. Among the applications decided so far, the rejection rate stands at 5.71%. If this trend continues across pending applications, more than 28,000 legitimate applications risk being rejected.
The party listed key reasons for the slow pace of enrolment. In the absence of clear directives from the government, Gazetted Officers are refusing to authenticate certificates. Tired of running around offices, many graduates are giving up on enrolment. Many applicants are unaware that after applying online, physical copies authenticated by Gazetted Officers must still be lodged at the Tahsildar or AERO offices. Officials have also failed to proactively inform them.
The CEO was told that unlike during general Assembly voter revisions, BLOs have not been assigned specific targets, door-to-door verification duties, or help desks for graduate enrolment.
The BRS demanded that the current deadline of November 6 must be extended by at least one month. Wide publicity must be given clarifying that electors can still apply during the claims and objections window (25.11.2026 – 10.12.2026) and via continuous updation. The Chief Secretary (CS) must immediately issue a directive instructing all Gazetted Officers to verify original certificates and attest photocopies free of cost and without refusal, BRS said.
It demanded that dedicated attestation desks with public display boards must be set up at all Tahsildar, MPDO, and GHMC circle offices, as well as government degree colleges. Digitally signed certificates issued via DigiLocker / NAD must be accepted directly without requiring additional physical attestation. Direct electronic verification should be enabled by integrating with state university databases.
Since graduation is a permanent qualification, electors already enrolled on the 2021 rolls should be exempted from resubmitting educational certificates, requiring only Form 18 and current proof of residence.
The BRS leaders emphasised that the Election Commission must safeguard the purpose of Graduates' Constituencies, which exist to provide an informed voice to educated citizens in the Legislative Council.
Former minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav demanded that the CEO take immediate favourable decisions on the charter of requests to protect the franchise of lakhs of graduates.
He warned that if the authorities fail to act, BRS will intensify its struggle on the ground to defend graduates' democratic rights.