HYDERABAD: The enumeration exercise undertaken as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has revealed an interesting trend among VIP electors in Hyderabad district. A majority of prominent personalities from the film industry, politics, business, sports and civil services appear to have retained their voting rights in Hyderabad despite having ancestral or native connections elsewhere.
The Hyderabad district election authorities identified 2,081 VIP electors across the 15 Assembly constituencies and paid special attention to ensuring that their Enumeration Forms (EFs) were collected and digitised. Of the 2,081 identified VIP electors, 1,515 forms have been digitised, accounting for 72.80%. The remaining electors are reportedly under the Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASDD) categories. The names of celebrities who have opted out of Hyderabad’s electoral rolls have not been officially revealed by the authorities.
Khairatabad Assembly constituency, which includes prominent localities such as Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Film Nagar and Prashasan Nagar, has 457 identified VIP electors. Of these, 324 forms have been digitised, accounting for 70.90%.
Verification of the details of these 457 electors also threw up some interesting findings. More than 15 persons were found to be deceased, while 43 had shifted their electoral registration from Hyderabad to other places. Three others are reportedly registered as voters in Andhra Pradesh despite residing in Hyderabad. They appear to have chosen to retain their electoral connection with their native state. Two of them reportedly belong to the same film family.
A political leader was also reportedly found to have registered as a voter in the Cherlapally ward area within the Greater Hyderabad limits. As part of the enumeration process, electors were requested to provide the required details. However, two VIPs reportedly declined to submit their information.
The enumeration also showed that while many prominent personalities have made Hyderabad their home and electoral base, some continue to retain their registration in their places of origin. For a large number of those whose roots lie elsewhere, Hyderabad has become home — and their vote is here too.
Cantonment tops VIP count
Among the 15 Assembly constituencies in Hyderabad district, Secunderabad Cantonment has the highest number of identified VIP electors, with 771, followed by Khairatabad with 457, Sanathnagar with 293 and Secunderabad with 165.