AIMIM ‘independently’ conducted pre-SIR mapping, alleges BJP

Hyderabad: Allegations of irregularities in the voter revision process in Hyderabad sparked a political face-off on Friday, with the BJP accusing AIMIM workers of interference during field-level operations in Chandrayangutta, claims that election authorities later dismissed as ‘baseless'.BJP alleged that AIMIM workers had taken control of user IDs and passwords from booth-level officers (BLOs) during the pre-SIR mapping exercise in Chandrayangutta assembly constituency, which falls under the Hyderabad parliamentary segment. BJP leader Ponna Venkata Ramana claimed that AIMIM workers and leaders had independently conducted the SIR process. "This is illegal and disrupted the revision process," he alleged. The party also released a video in support of its claims and, in a representation, urged the Hyderabad district election authorities and the state election office to order an immediate inquiry and take action against those responsible. However, Telangana chief electoral officer C Sudharshan Reddy rejected the allegations after an inquiry. He clarified that no irregularities were found and that there was no sharing of login credentials. According to the CEO, booth-level agents (BLAs) were only assisting BLOs during the mapping exercise, which is part of routine electoral work. The inquiry was conducted by GHMC commissioner RV Karnan, along with the additional commissioner and the electoral registration officer, all of whom found the claims to be untrue. Officials said the BLO concerned, along with three others, had visited a masjid area to carry out mapping work and had sought assistance from local BLAs. The BLO confirmed that no passwords or sensitive credentials were shared at any point. Election authorities reiterated that the revision process was conducted as per guidelines and dismissed the BJP's allegations as unfounded.