Telangana Voters Encounter Bizarre Polling Station Names in 2002 Electoral Rolls
Residents of Telangana are expressing shock and frustration after discovering that the Election Commission's website lists polling stations with nonsensical names such as "Singapore", "For Pakistan", "Slingshot", "Cockatoo", "Cashew Lizard", "Big Goot", and "Goat's Nest" from the 2002 electoral rolls. These peculiar entries are currently being utilized to map residents across the state, causing significant confusion among voters during the pre-special intensive revision process.
Widespread Use of Absurd Phrases Across Districts
An investigation into the electoral rolls has revealed that these bizarre names are not isolated incidents. Examples include phrases like "for vegetarian", "a new students", "johncompete", "find the pumpkin", "among the monkeys", and "while sleeping", which recur across all former districts of Telangana. The Election Commission's Voters' Service Portal displays a prominent red disclaimer noting, "Spellings may vary between last SIR details and current details, hence if you do not find output with exact name then try different variations of names, for example for Maneesh also try Manish." Additionally, the portal clarifies that the data is hosted as received from state chief electoral officers without modifications.
Voter Complaints Highlight Mapping Difficulties
With the special revision process underway, voters report that these "preposterous" polling station names make it exceedingly difficult to scan the SIR e-roll to verify the inclusion of their names or those of family members. Satya Narayana, a resident of Ranga Reddy district, shared his ordeal: "I struggled for a week to find my name in the 2002 roll under Chevella constituency. When I saw the polling station names, I was shocked. I couldn't recognise many of them despite living in the city since the age of 14. They hardly make any sense. How does EC expect us to cooperate when the list they prepared is full of mistakes?"
Another voter, Ajay R from Wardhannapet constituency, encountered words like "lazy", "bite", and "worry" during his search. He criticized the officials, stating, "I don't understand how officials assumed that these could be polling station names. This shows that they did no due diligence while preparing the electoral rolls. It's unfortunate that they are now using it to sanitise electoral rolls in the country." Ajay R was a minor in 2002 when these rolls were created.
Electoral Officials Respond to Errors
Some electoral registration officers expressed surprise upon learning about these errors. They have committed to reviewing the rolls to identify and report such mistakes to the Election Commission for deletion. K Partha Simha Reddy, the Electoral Registration Officer for Chevella constituency, explained, "Booth-level officers will have to inform us if errors are found. So far no such issue has been flagged to us in the pre-SIR process." In contrast, Telangana CEO C Sudharshan Reddy declined to comment on the matter.
The situation underscores ongoing challenges in maintaining accurate electoral records and raises questions about the diligence applied in past roll preparations. Voters continue to advocate for corrections to ensure a fair and transparent electoral process in Telangana.
