SIR redraws Hyd’s voter map, Andhra-origin bastions top voter drop list | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is throwing up a striking electoral pattern in Greater Hyderabad: Constituencies long regarded as strongholds of Andhra-origin voters are emerging as some of Telangana’s biggest centres for voter deletions and unmapped electors, fuelling speculation that a section of these voters may have shifted their electoral allegiance to Andhra Pradesh.The trend has surfaced across nine constituencies that have consistently been identified in election reporting as having sizeable Andhra and Rayalaseema-origin populations. Together, they are recording deletion rates well above the Telangana average, while five of them occupy the top five positions in the state for electors who could not be mapped to previous electoral rolls.The overlap could have significant political implications if a sizeable section of those categorised as shifted, absent or enrolled elsewhere have chosen to retain their votes in Andhra Pradesh, officials and political leaders said. Such a shift could reduce the residual influence of Andhra Pradesh-based parties such as the TDP, YSRCP and Jana Sena in Telangana elections, particularly in Hyderabad’s traditional Andhra-origin residents’ belt.The electoral weight of Andhra-origin communities, including Kamma and Kapu voters, could also be affected, although SIR data does not classify electors by caste or state of origin.Chevella MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy said the growing competitiveness of Andhra politics was encouraging many voters to retain their electoral presence there. “Andhra politics has become tight and even elite and lower class voters have opted to keep their vote there,” he reasoned.Rajendranagar electoral registration officer (ERO) Srinivas Reddy echoed the view, saying a significant number of Andhra-origin voters appeared to have opted for enrolment in Andhra Pradesh. “Most of the Andhra voters opted to go there. That is why the numbers are less here,” he said.5 no-mapping seatsThe nine Greater Hyderabad constituencies repeatedly identified as having significant Andhra-origin populations are Kukatpally, Quthbullapur, Malkajgiri, Serilingampally, Uppal, LB Nagar, Rajendranagar, Medchal and Maheswaram.All five constituencies with the highest no-mapping rates in Telangana fall within this cluster, revealing a striking overlap between Hyderabad’s Andhra-origin residents’ belt and the areas showing the greatest stress in the SIR exercise.Kukatpally tops the state with 2.1 lakh electors, or 65.5% of digitised voters, remaining unmapped. Its absent, shifted, dead, and duplicate (ASDD) count stands at 1.7 lakh, or 34.5% of the pre-SIR electorate. Uppal follows closely with 2.1 lakh unmapped electors, accounting for 64.6% of digitised voters. Another 2.1 lakh electors, or 39.8%, fall under the ASDD category.Quthbullapur has the largest unmapped pool in absolute numbers among the nine constituencies, with three lakh electors, or 63.8%, not mapped. Its ASDD count stands at 2.7 lakh, or 37%. Serilingampally, one of Hyderabad’s largest and most established Andhra voter pockets, has 2.7 lakh unmapped electors, or 61.6%, while 3.2 lakh electors, or 42.6%, are classified under ASDD.LB Nagar records the highest deletion rate among the nine constituencies. It has 2.7 lakh ASDD electors, representing 44.4% of the electorate, while another 1.8 lakh voters, or 55.3% of digitised electors, remain unmapped.For comparison, Telangana’s average ASDD rate is 21.7%, while the Greater Hyderabad average stands at 37.67%. The statewide no-mapping average is 12.2%, compared with roughly 32.7% across Greater Hyderabad.The trend extends well beyond the five worst-affected constituencies. Maheswaram has 2.3 lakh ASDD electors, or 40.9%, though its no-mapping rate is relatively lower at 24.1%, involving 81,951 electors. Rajendranagar records 2.4 lakh ASDD electors, or 38.8%, along with 99,396 unmapped voters, representing 25.6% of digitised electors. Malkajgiri has 1.9 lakh ASDD electors, or 37.6%, and another 1.2 lakh unmapped electors, accounting for 39.7%.Medchal has the lowest deletion rate among the nine constituencies, yet its ASDD figure of 31.46%, involving 2.1 lakh electors, remains nearly 10 percentage points above the Telangana average. Its no-mapping rate stands at 47.4%, involving 2.2 lakh electors.While the figures establish a strong correlation, they do not provide a voter-by-voter explanation. Electoral rolls and SIR data do not identify electors as Andhra-origin, Telangana-origin, Kamma, Kapu or members of any other community. Nor is there any official constituency-wise count of Andhra-origin voters.If a sizeable section of those classified as shifted, absent or enrolled elsewhere have chosen Andhra Pradesh as their place of registration, their electoral influence in Telangana’s urban constituencies could diminish, experts say. The extent of that shift, however, will become clear only after the SIR exercise determines how many electors return to the rolls and how many have permanently moved their registration elsewhere.