37% of pre-SIR Form-6 applications rejected in Telangana due to absence of declaration form - The HinduUpdated - October 29, 2026 11:50 pm IST - HYDERABADShifting goal posts by the Election Commission of India (ECI) with regard to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Electoral Rolls have resulted in rejection of tens of thousands of application forms for new voter enrolments in Telangana.A large number of applications for fresh voter registration, submitted through Form-6 before the start of the SIR process, got rejected because they were not accompanied by a declaration form mandated as a prerequisite for enrolment.The declaration form, which was an attachment to the Form-6 exclusively for the SIR process, sought details of the voter or the voter’s parents/relatives from 2002 SIR. In the absence of such details, the applicants were required to submit any of the listed 12 documents as proof of their citizenship.The ECI recently announced that the declaration was not required for submission of Form-6 in States where SIR is not on. It was too late for Telangana, where a large number of voters who had submitted Form-6 before the start of SIR were rejected for lack of the declaration form.As per data obtained from the office of the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer, a total of 5,20,331 applications were received for new enrolments during the pre-SIR period between January 1, 2026 and June 14, 2026. They were not accompanied by the declaration form which was made mandatory only during the SIR process.As per the Registration of Electors Rules, 196, such claims should be exhibited at the office of the Electoral Registration Officer, and disposed of in a week’s time. This was not adhered to, and the forms submitted up to June 14, 2026 are now being processed along with the forms submitted during Enumeration Phase, and Claims & Objections Phase and post Claims & Objections phase too.Of the total pre-SIR Form-6 applications, only 3,22,785 were accepted as new enrolments till October 28, 2026. A total 1,92,574 were rejected, clocking a 37% rejection rate. A total 4,972 forms were still to be processed.Electoral officials attributed the rejections to non-submission of declaration form along with Form-6. This is despite the fact that the forms were submitted before SIR, when declaration form was not mandatory. Officials say, the rejected applicants’ names will not be reflected in the final rolls, unless they submit the form afresh.An ERO, unwilling to be quoted, informed that in order to process the pre-SIR Form-6 applications, declaration forms are being sent now from door-to-door through the Booth Level Officers (BLOs).The BLOs had failed to distribute enumeration forms from door-to-door during the Enumeration Phase, due to which 73.39 lakh electors have been removed from the draft electoral rolls, and bundled under Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate categories.They were additionally burdened with the job of the EROs too during Notice Phase, of collecting documents and uploading them onto the ERONET software. In addition, they are asked to go from door-to-door to distribute notices and collect documents from voters who have not responded to notices.Many of the BLOs could not even be present at the polling stations on October 15 & 16 for a special camp announced by the CEO for enrolment of voters.Published - October 29, 2026 07:15 pm ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }