TDP demands voter eligibility clarity: As serious questions and doubts continue to be raised over the ongoing ‘Special Intensive Revision (SIR)’ of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the ruling NDA’s second-largest constituent, has in a well-publicised letter, sought clarity on “the scope of the exercise” and demanded it should be made clear that it is “not related to citizenship verification”. Reports The Indian Express.
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday, July 15, written by TDP parliamentary party leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu and signed by five other party leaders, the party has written: “The scope of the SIR must be clearly defined and must be limited to electoral roll re-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.”
The letter was submitted to the statutory body (ECI) after the TDP leaders led a delegation there, as part of an ongoing exercise by the poll panel to take suggestions from political parties to strengthen electoral processes.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar and ECs Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi had an interaction with a delegation from the Telugu Desam Party led by its State President Shri Palla Srinivasa Rao and received their suggestions at Nirvachan Sadan, New Delhi today. pic.twitter.com/PgKOZsNAA6
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) July 15, 2025
When queried about the letter, the TDP national spokesperson and one of the signatories, Jyothsna Tirunagari, said there was “no link” between the ongoing SIR in Bihar and the party’s suggestions. “We just met the EC and, as we were asked for suggestions, made our stand clear on the electoral process. We are a democratic party and would want transparency in the electoral process,” she told The Indian Express.
These suggestions by the TDP follow the communication by the poll panel to Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all states on July 5, directing them to begin preparations for a ‘Bihar-like exercise — this time with January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date’.
Days after the Supreme Court questioned the EC on July 10, over the timing of the SIR in Bihar, the TDP letter says that any such electoral roll revision should “not ideally be within six months of any major election”. “To ensure voter confidence and administrative preparedness, the SIR process should be conducted with a sufficient time lead,” the letter says.
The N Chandrababu Naidu-led party has also said that voters included in the electoral rolls must not be required to re-establish their eligibility “unless specific and verifiable reasons are recorded”, and called for a third-party audit under the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to identify anomalies.
Among other suggestions in the letter, include district-wise data on voter addition and deletions with explanations on the EC portal, permission to Aadhaar-based cross-verification, penalties for inaction by EROS (Electoral Registration Officers) and DEOs (District Election Officers), a state-level ombudsman under the EC to handle unresolved grievances, and targeted re-enrolment campaigns for migrant workers, tribal groups and senior citizens.
“Temporary address declarations must be permitted with basic documentation to prevent disenfranchisement of the mobile population… where voters are unable to submit documents at the time of visit, age-wise verification must be permitted,” the letter reads.
Signatories also included party MPs Byreddy Shabari and D Prasada Rao, and TDP state president Palla Srinivasa Rao.
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