INDIA’S ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in the headlines for wrong reasons on Monday (13), when the fourth phase of the country’s marathon general elections was held, after one of its high-profile candidates in the city of Hyderabad in the southern state of Telangana. Kompella Madhavi Latha, faced a police case.

The reason? The actor and firebrand leader was seen in a video asking burqa-clad Muslim women at a polling booth in the city to reveal their faces so that she could match them with their photographs shown on their voter identity cards.

The matter soon snowballed into a huge controversy and the case was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Representation of the People Act. The office of the Hyderabad collector confirmed that the case was filed against the BJP candidate, also one of the richest in the state, in a post on X.

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A case is registered in Malakpet Police Station against Smt Madhavi Latha, Contesting candidate, BJP under sections 171C, 186, 505(1)(c) of IPC and Section 132 of the Representation of the People Act

— Collector Hyderabad (@Collector_HYD) May 13, 2024

District election officer Ronald Ross earlier told Indian channel NDTV that police will be registering a first-information report against Madhavi Latha saying no candidate has the right to check somebody’s identity by lifting her veil.

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If there is a suspicion, a candidate can ask the polling officer, he added.

Madhavi Latha, who is challenging Hyderabad’s four-time and sitting MP Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, is one of the most talked-about candidates of the fourth phase of the national election.

The BJP leader, however, told Asian News International that a candidate has the right to check voter ID cards.

“I am a candidate. As per law, a candidate has the right to check ID cards without facemasks. I am not a man, I am a woman and with a lot of humility, I requested them. If somebody wants to make a big issue out of it, it means they are scared,” she said.

A number of the BJP’s sympathisers also expressed support for her on social media saying she did the right thing by pointing out discrepancies in the voter list in the Hyderabad constituency.

Those who are trying to communalise Madhavi Latha's act of verifying voters should look at this. She is highlighting major discrepancies in the voter list in Hyderabad LS Constituency.

Narla Mallesh Yadav, a voter despite being healthy and alive has been declared dead. pic.twitter.com/zzXasyR6TM

— Karthik Reddy (@bykarthikreddy) May 13, 2024

Owaisi did not comment on the matter but reported the video on his social media timeline.

Speaking with ANI, Madhavi Latha also alleged discrepancies in the voters’ list and accused the police officers of not checking things. She said a number of senior voters found their names had got deleted from the list.

The incident happened against the backdrop of a polarised contest in Hyderabad, a Muslim-dominated constituency and a family stronghold of Owaisi, whose father had represented it in the past for several years.

In the run-up to the poll, Madhavi Latha had said she was hopeful of getting the support of the Muslim voters too saying her party has spoken about issues such as triple talaq (a system under which Muslim men could give divorce to their wives in minutes) and jobs for Muslim youngsters.

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