Voters who provided their 2002 SIR details remain unmapped in Telangana, owing to glitchy software

In Telangana, many voters who diligently filled out the 2002 Special Intensive Revision (SIR) forms are now receiving notices stating their names remain unmapped. This issue stems from software glitches developed by the Election Commission of India. Despite the voters' efforts, they are being asked to present themselves at Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) offices with relevant documents, including Aadhaar and date of birth proofs.

Voters like V. Swapna from LB Nagar and D. Sathish from RTC Colony expressed frustration, as they had taken extra precautions when filling out their forms, even practicing with photocopies. However, they are now being included in the category of unmapped voters, despite providing the 2002 SIR details on their forms.

The problem lies in the software used by BLOs (Block Voters' List) officers. Many BLOs failed to upload the 2002 details into the ECI mobile app if there was any minor discrepancy in the names, such as using a surname instead of an initial or appending caste names at the end of the actual name. This led to the notices being issued, deeming the voters as unmapped.

As of now, 32,36,659 electors from the draft electoral rolls have been categorized as unmapped. Notices have been issued with the date and time of a hearing to be conducted by the ERO or Assistant ERO. This issue highlights the challenges faced during the SIR process due to the software's limitations in handling minor name mismatches.