Hyderabad: Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) on Wednesday, May 6, wrote a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Telangana, C Sudharshan Reddy, alleging irregularities in Special Intensive Revision (SIR) voter mapping by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in Hyderabad.
The party spokesperson, Amjed Ullah Khan, alleged that these irregularities are being witnessed in the Assembly constituencies of Yakutpura, Chandrayangutta, Malakpet, Charminar, Bahadurpura, and Karwan.
Allegations levelled by MBT
In the letter ahead of SIR exercise in Hyderabad, he mentioned, “It has been observed that the BLOs are not conducting door-to-door visits for voter verification and mapping, which is a mandatory procedure. Instead, they are reportedly stationed at local All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party offices or at the residences of local political leaders, asking voters to visit these locations for verification.”
He further wrote, “It has also come to light that every BLO is provided with a login ID and password for official work. However, there are serious allegations that some BLOs have shared these credentials with local AIMIM leaders. By downloading and operating the BLO App from the Play Store using these credentials, unauthorized persons are accessing and handling the system. This has led to the exposure of confidential voter data, particularly sensitive information relating to women voters, including Muslim women, which poses a grave risk of misuse in the future.”
Are irregularities taking place in SIR mapping by BLOs in Hyderabad?
MBT alleged that BLOs are not conducting door-to-door visits and are asking voters to come to the offices of local AIMIM leaders.
However, when the ground reality was assessed, it was found that some BLOs are conducting door-to-door visits, while others are making themselves available at schools where polling takes place during elections.
A few BLOs are also seen sitting in temporary arrangements in localities. Some of them are asking voters to send details from the 2002 list on WhatsApp and are completing the process online based on it.
In another allegation, it was claimed that BLOs are sharing their login credentials with AIMIM leaders. A similar allegation was earlier made by the BJP as well.
However, the allegation was rejected by the Telangana CEO after an inquiry conducted by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) commissioner RV Karnan, along with the additional commissioner and the electoral registration officer.
He had confirmed that booth-level agents (BLAs) were only assisting BLOs during the mapping exercise.
As an app developed by AIMIM to help voters find their or their relatives’ details in the 2002 SIR list looks similar to the official BLO app, it is creating apprehension that local party leaders gained access to the government app.
