EC moves dates, Congress moves goalposts
Draft rolls now on August 10; claims window shifts too. The BJP-led Centre’s Commission says urban lag; the Congress in Telangana says conspiracy. One of those comes with dates attached.
The revision calendar has moved by 10 days; the qualifying date remains October 1.
The Election Commission has pushed Telangana’s Special Summary Revision calendar by 10 days: the draft electoral roll now lands on August 10, with house-to-house enumeration by BLOs running till August 3, the claims-and-objections window from August 10 to September 9, disposal by October 8, and final rolls on October 12. The qualifying date stays October 1. According to the Commission’s own original schedule, the draft was due July 31 with final rolls on October 1; the shift moves only the milestones, not the rules.
The stated reason is prosaic: slower progress in cities. Telangana CEO C. Sudharshan Reddy said distribution was done statewide but collection and digitisation lagged in urban districts, and that 10 more days would help. A report says the Commission revised the dates after his request and party representations, and directed him to inform all recognised parties in writing.
On the ground, BRS had formally sought extra time citing field issues and urged cadre to verify every eligible voter in claims and objections — the part of the process designed for exactly that. The Congress chief minister chose a different line: alleging a BJP–BRS plot to delete Congress voters. That is a political claim; the Commission’s calendar, and its ask that all parties post BLAs at every booth for transparency, are on paper. The BJP-led Centre’s Commission has given Telangana more days to get urban rolls right; the Congress government here has not bothered to show one document to back its conspiracy line.