Telangana Local Body Elections: State Election Commission Initiates Major Changes in Voter List
The State Election Commission (SEC) has removed the existing voter list from the Te-Poll app in view of the upcoming local body elections in Telangana and has initiated the process of preparing a new voter list.
The State Election Commission (SEC) has removed the existing voter list from the Te-Poll app in view of the upcoming local body elections in Telangana and has initiated the process of preparing a new voter list. This decision comes in the wake of major administrative changes in the state, such as the merger of villages into municipalities and the formation of new mandals and local bodies.
The process, expected to be completed in the next 15 to 20 days, involves preparing a fresh ward-wise voter list, with each village being considered the basic unit. District Panchayat Officers (DPOs) have directed Panchayat Secretaries to delete the names of deceased persons and include the names of youths who have recently turned 18.
The new list will be uploaded through Panchayat Secretary logins, replacing the one uploaded earlier this year through the MPDO logins.
It may be recalled that the last revised voter list was published in January 2025 and included 3.35 crore voters across the state—comprising 1.66 crore males, 1.68 crore females, and 2,829 third-gender individuals. However, the need for a fresh list arose after the merger of 71 Gram Panchayats into the GHMC and other urban municipalities.
Technical glitches were also identified in the Te-Poll software, due to which the details of some voters were not being displayed correctly. In addition, the Commission is working to ensure that all voters from the same family are included in the same ward to avoid the confusion that occurred in previous elections.
The process will also include the redistribution of Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) constituencies. Notably, the number of mandals has been reduced from 565 to 564, necessitating a redistribution of MPTC seats.
The election preparation process will follow four major stages: publication of the draft list, receipt of objections, resolution of objections, and publication of the final list. Once these stages are completed, the list of polling stations will be finalized. Only after this can the Commission announce the official election schedule.
Meanwhile, uncertainty continues over the reservations for Backward Classes (BCs), creating further complications in finalizing the timeline. With the High Court directing that the election process be completed by September 30, officials now face a race against time.
A senior official of the State Election Commission stated, “We are diligently preparing the voter list with complete honesty and transparency to restore public confidence.”
