Hyderabad: A supervisor of booth-level officers (BLOs) has busted the myths related to family mapping for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which is set to begin in Telangana soon.
He clarified who is being considered as relatives for the sake of mapping.
Who are relatives for the exercise?
Speaking to Siasat.com, the supervisor, Muneer, from Bahadurpura Assembly, said that BLOs have started the linking and mapping process.
If a voter’s name appears in the 2002 list, the linking is straightforward. Those whose names do not feature are being asked to connect themselves through relatives whose entries exist in the older roll, he added.
On the question of who is being considered as relatives for the sake of SIR, he listed the following six relations:
- Father
- Mother
- Maternal grandfather
- Maternal grandmother
- Paternal grandfather
- Paternal grandmother
Earlier, there was confusion when some of the BLOs from Bahadurpura claimed that they were currently linking voters only through fathers, mothers and paternal grandfathers.
Responding to the confusion, he said that there is clear instruction to link to both paternal and maternal grandfathers and grandmothers in case the father and mother are not in the 2002 SIR list.
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SIR family mapping starts in Hyderabad: Keep these details ready
What Election Commission guidelines say
Training material prepared for SIR in West Bengal states that if an elector’s name does not appear in the last revision, details of the father, mother, grandfather, grandmother or other relatives can be entered.
Similarly, the online standard operating procedure (SOP) for filling SIR enumeration forms gives three options to voters:
- That their own name exists in the last SIR roll
- That their parents’ or grandparents’ names exist
- That neither does
The wording makes it clear that both grandfathers and grandmothers are included.
This interpretation has also been reiterated by election officials in other states, including Uttar Pradesh, where authorities clarified that grandparents on both the maternal and paternal sides are valid for linking.
Officials in Hyderabad pointed out that even the BLO mobile application allows a person in the 2002 list to be connected as a parent or grandparent to sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters or transgender persons — definitions that implicitly cover both sides of the family.
Details, documents to keep ready for SIR family mapping in Hyderabad
Voters can look up older roll details through the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer website (click here) by selecting the electoral search option, entering the required information and checking whether their own or relatives’ names appear in the previous SIR.
Officials recommend keeping these details handy ahead of the revision drive, as they can include information relating to parents or grandparents.
Apart from the details, voters need to keep their Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) ready.
