The Election Commission of India (ECI) has been implicated in a report by the Reporters’ Collective for sharing voter data, inclusive of photographs, with the Telangana state government. This action occurred during the tenure of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, now known as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, and allegedly involved collaboration with private firms.
In November 2019, Telangana implemented the Pensioner Live Verification System aimed at verifying the demographic details and photographs of pension recipients, contracting private firms for software development related to this initiative. This marks the first documented instance of ECI sharing its voter database with a state government for a private sector project.
The voter roll, which is a centralized database overseen by the ECI, typically requires permission for access. However, an RTI request filed by privacy activist S.Q. Masood revealed that Posidex Technologies Private Limited, based in Hyderabad, played a role in creating the Pensioner Live Verification System.
According to documents obtained through the RTI, Posidex provided an invoice detailing work undertaken on various software projects for the state government, including the pension verification system, which confirms the life status of pension recipients. The invoice outlined the creation of “four web services under this module,” which were integrated with the Election Department’s EPIC data and the Pension Department database.
The T-App, used by the Telangana government for real-time verification of pensioners, later evolved into the Real-Time Data Authentication Initiative (RTDAI). This system required beneficiaries to upload selfies to prove both identity and presence.
G.T. Venkateshwar Rao, managing director of Posidex, asserted that “the project is designed and owned by the Government of Telangana,” stating that all datasets and permissions are decided by the state. Conversely, Venkat Reddy, co-founder and CEO of Posidex, claimed that the application does not utilize ECI data and that his company only provided minor components for authentication.
Contradictions emerged, however, as Posidex’s own invoice noted the integration of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to compare live photos uploaded by pensioners with their voter ID photos. Additionally, a 2023 Telangana government document indicated the RTDAI had expanded from pension verification to include facial authentication of voters during municipal elections in 2020, drawing from the ECI’s voter database.
On August 28, 2025, privacy activist Srinivas Kodali submitted a formal complaint to Telangana’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), alleging the unlawful sharing and misuse of electoral roll photographs by the state government. He raised critical concerns about when the ECI initially granted access to its voter database and whether such access is still active.
Kodali suggested that the data sharing might have started with the ECI’s 2015 initiative to link EPIC IDs with Aadhaar. Referencing a letter from Telangana’s CEO to the Deputy Election Commissioner dated April 25, 2018, he noted that the CEO’s office had confirmed sharing the electoral roll with the State Resident Data Hub (SRDH), a platform that compiles demographic information.
The Reporters’ Collective validated the 2018 letter, confirming acknowledgment of the data transfer by Telangana’s CEO. In his complaint, Kodali demanded an audit by the CEO and the immediate removal of EPIC photographs from external entities unrelated to the CEO’s office, arguing that the actions of the ECI have facilitated the misuse of electoral photographs.
In response to these developments, TMC MP Mahua Moitra criticized the ECI, claiming it contradicted its statements on privacy while sharing the complete Telangana ECI database with private company Posidex Technologies.
The ECI currently faces significant scrutiny, with opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, alleging collusion with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for alleged election manipulation and voter deletions. The contentious Bihar Special Intensive Revision has further heightened criticism, with concerns that it may lead to widespread disenfranchisement.
Tags: ECI voter data, Telangana government, private tech firm, 2019 investigation, data sharing
Hashtags: #Investigation #reveals #ECI #voter #data #including #photos #shared #Telangana #govt #private #tech #firm
