Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Mahesh Kumar Goud on Friday raised vote manipulation allegations during discussions on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Telangana. He claimed BJP leaders won elections using “fraudulent votes” and alleged large-scale irregularities during voter revision exercises.
Mahesh Kumar Goud made the remarks after meeting Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy along with senior Congress leaders in Hyderabad. The delegation discussed the upcoming Special Intensive Revision process and voter verification procedures in the State.
Addressing the media later, the Congress leader alleged that large-scale “vote theft” took place during electoral revision exercises in 14 states. He also referred to developments in West Bengal while expressing concern over alleged electoral manipulation.
Mahesh Kumar Goud claimed authorities added 8.2 crore votes across the country while deleting nearly 5.9 lakh votes simultaneously. Referring to West Bengal, he alleged that officials removed 90 lakh votes and added 60 lakh new votes, which he claimed altered political outcomes.
Vote manipulation allegations focus on voter deletion concerns
The Congress leader said Telangana had no elections scheduled for the next two years. Therefore, he urged Election Commission authorities to extend the Special Intensive Revision exercise over one year.
He also requested officials to provide voters at least three months to submit supporting documents. According to him, economically weaker sections could face difficulties in producing records within a short period.
Mahesh Kumar Goud further suggested that Booth Level Officers should visit voters’ homes at least three times for proper verification. He expressed concern over deletion of votes belonging to people living abroad and urged authorities not to remove such names arbitrarily.
The Congress leader also alleged that attempts were being made to delete votes that did not favour the BJP. He called upon citizens to safeguard their voting rights during the revision process.
According to Mahesh Kumar Goud, the Special Intensive Revision process in Telangana will begin on June 25. He said voter data collection would continue till July 24, while authorities would publish the revised voter list on October 1.
