Days ahead of the Telangana Assembly elections, citizens find themselves inundated with incessant phone calls from contesting candidates, causing widespread inconvenience.
Sairam, a resident of Madhura Nagar Colony, encountered one such call at approximately 6.30 p.m. on Sunday. Despite dealing with numerous similar calls throughout the day, the Truecaller app on his phone identified the caller as ‘KTR call.’ Upon answering, he was met with an automated voice listing the names of candidates from the Jubilee Hills constituency. The voice instructed him to press 1, 2, or 3 to indicate his voting preference.
Expressing frustration, Mr. Sairam stated, “I am receiving more than five calls from morning till evening. Even when I reject the calls, the same number dials again after a few hours.”
Recalling a similar situation which occurred during the 2020 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, Sahilesh Reddy, a resident of Medchal, expressed concern, stating, “Since the last two days, I have been receiving such calls. I don’t understand how these people obtain phone numbers and whether it is legal for them to do so.” One call he received on Monday was from Thotakura Vajresh Yadav, the contesting candidate from the Indian National Congress (INC). The 26-second call urged him to look at the atrocities being committed by the ruling candidate in Medchal and consider the six guarantees while voting.
Another citizen, Vikas, a resident of Banjara Hills reported receiving automated voice calls for a week. “In a few days, the number crossed 15 calls. The initial tolerance wears thin, and it becomes very irritating, even to reject the calls,” he shared. On Monday, Venkat received two such calls.
Many frustrated citizens have turned to social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), creating polls to assess the extent of the issue and share their experiences with the barrage of calls from unknown numbers.