New Delhi: The TDP urged the Election Commission on Tuesday to not hold the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh within six months of a major poll and to communicate explicitly that the exercise is not related to citizenship verification.
A TDP delegation met the Election Commission (EC) and told its all three members that the purpose of SIR must be clearly defined and be limited to electoral roll correction and inclusion. Voters already enrolled in the latest roll should not be required to re-establish their eligibility unless specific and verifiable reasons are recorded, it asserted.
The suggestions offered by the BJP’s biggest ally mark a clear distinction from the procedure guiding the SIR in Bihar and its timing, which has ignited a political storm as the Opposition has questioned its implementation close to the Assembly polls, expected in October-November, and the burden of proof on prospective voters in many cases.
Several opposition leaders have moved the Supreme Court against the drive in Bihar. The apex court has allowed the EC to continue with the revision but has made several suggestions to the poll body, while acknowledging concerns about its timing and implementation.
Though the Telugu Desam Party in its communication to the EC made no reference to Bihar, its view conveys clearly that the party of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu wants the EC to revisit the modalities of the Bihar exercise when the electoral roll revision is rolled out in the southern state as well as nationally.
“The SIR’s purpose must be clearly defined and limited to electoral-roll correction and inclusion. It should be explicitly communicated that the exercise is not related to citizenship verification, and any field instructions must reflect this distinction,” said the party’s submission under the sub-head “clarifying the scope of SIR”.
Batting for the “presumption of inclusion”, it said the voters who are already enrolled in the most-recent certified electoral rolls should not be required to re-establish their eligibility unless specific and verifiable reasons are recorded.
Prospective voters not enrolled in Bihar in 2003 have been asked to submit one of the 11 documents listed by the EC, which told the apex court Aadhaar was not among them as it was not proof of citizenship. The court has asked it to consider including Aadhaar as proof.
Citing a Supreme Court judgment, the TDP told the EC that prior inclusion of a person in electoral rolls creates a presumption of validity and any deletion must be preceded by a valid inquiry.
“The burden of proof lies with the ERO (Electoral Registration Officers) or objector, not the voter, especially when the name exists in the official roll,” the delegation, which included TDP’s parliamentary party leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu and its state president Palla Srinivasa Rao, said in its submission.
The delegation met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and ECs Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
Noting that the Assembly polls are not due till 2029 in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP said the SIR provides a valuable opportunity to ensure that the electoral rolls are updated in a fair, inclusive and transparent manner.
It told the EC to start the exercise in the state “as early as possible”, stressing the need for adequate time and advance notification.
Noting that the state has a high level of seasonal migration, particularly from rural and coastal regions, it said the SIR should deploy mobile BLO (booth-level officer) units and accept temporary address declarations to prevent the exclusion of migrant workers and displaced families.
Pitching for procedural clarity on the deletion of anyone from the electoral rolls and the redressal mechanism, it urged the EC to give a reasoned order in such cases with due notice and allow stage-wise verification.
While the above-mentioned suggestions were made by the party for any future SIR in Andhra Pradesh, it made a slew of advice for a similar exercise to be held across the country for the general election.
It called for annual third-party audits under the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to identify anomalies, use of AI-driven tools to flag issues like duplication in real time, ensuring a time-bound grievance-redressal mechanism at the local level and having standardised door numbers nationwide as a policy to strengthen electoral-roll verification.
The TDP advocated using Aadhaar for the rectification of duplicate EPIC numbers (voter card), expediting the issuance of unique, non-repeating EPIC numbers nationwide and replacing the ink-based verification process with a biometric model.
The regional party batted for a mandatory involvement of booth-level agents (BLAs) from all recognised political parties in the revision process.
Emphasising transparency, it said the poll watchdog should publish district-wise data on voter additions and deletions with explanations on its portal and implement a real-time public dashboard for tracking voter grievances and their resolution.
Among other suggestions, the TDP asked the EC to hold monthly consultative meetings with recognised political parties at the DEO or ERO level, conduct targeted re-enrolment campaigns for migrants, tribal groups, elderly citizens and the homeless.
