TDP urges EC for more time, easy inclusion in voter roll revision

Business Standard

7 days ago

The TDP urged the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday to give adequate time to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh, saying it should not be held within six months of a major poll and the voters already enrolled in the latest roll be not required to reestablish their identity.
The suggestions offered by the BJP ally to the poll watchdog come amid a political row over the ongoing SIR in Bihar as its implementation close to the Assembly polls in the eastern state and the burden of proof on prospective voters in many cases have drawn criticism from opposition parties.
"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," a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) delegation told the EC.
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.
Citing a Supreme Court judgment, it said the 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 or objector, not the voter, especially when the name exists in the official roll," the delegation, including 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, which the TDP governs along with its allies, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it 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.
"To ensure voter confidence and administrative preparedness, the SIR process should be conducted with sufficient lead time, ideally not within six months of any major election," the TDP said.
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 advices 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 Al-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.
It also called for allowing temporary address declarations with basic documentation to prevent disenfranchisement of mobile populations.
With a legacy rooted in people-centric governance, institutional integrity and proactive participation in the democratic process, the TDP has consistently championed the voice of the people through electoral engagement, it said. The party also highlighted the high percentage of voter turnout historically in Andhra Pradesh.