NEW DELHI, July 16— The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a key ally of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, on Tuesday demanded that the Election Commission of India (ECI) clarify the scope of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, cautioning against any attempt to link it with citizenship verification.
In a detailed letter submitted to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a six-member TDP delegation urged the poll body to assert that the SIR is strictly limited to correcting and updating the voter rolls. “It should be explicitly communicated that the exercise is unrelated to citizenship verification, and any field instructions must reflect this distinction,” the party said in the letter signed by TDP parliamentary leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu and five other leaders.
“The purpose of the SIR must be clearly defined and limited to electoral roll correction and inclusion,” the party stressed warning that ambiguity around the process could damage voter confidence and open the door to wrongful deletions.
In its representation, the TDP argued that voters already enrolled should not be forced to re-establish their eligibility “unless specific and verifiable reasons are recorded,” citing a Supreme Court ruling that upheld a presumption of validity once a name appears in the rolls. “The burden of proof lies with the electoral registration officer or objector, not the voter,” the letter stated.
The TDP also proposed a set of reforms, including annual third-party audits under the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), deployment of AI tools to detect duplication and deceased entries in real time, and a robust, time-bound grievance redressal mechanism at the booth and registration officer levels.
Sources in the ECI told The Tribune that the commission was reviewing the suggestions and would act within the legal framework.
The TDP delegation included MPs Byreddy Shabari and D. Prasada Rao, Andhra Pradesh party president Palla Srinivasa Rao, and MLA Koona Ravi Kumar. They met with the commission earlier Tuesday, as part of the ECI’s outreach to political parties for input on improving electoral processes.
The party stressed that the roll revision must not be rushed and should not take place within six months of a major election, to ensure proper administrative readiness and voter awareness. “Given that Andhra Pradesh’s next Assembly election is due in 2029, the current SIR presents an opportunity to ensure the rolls are updated in a fair, inclusive, and transparent manner,” the letter said.
Citing seasonal migration in coastal Andhra, the TDP asked the ECI to allow voters to declare temporary addresses with basic documentation and suggested age-based verification where documents are unavailable at the time of the visit.
Among its technical proposals, the party called for a nationwide policy to standardize door numbers, use of Aadhaar to fix duplicate EPIC numbers, expedited rollout of unique and non-replicable EPICs, and replacement of ink-based with biometric verification systems — provided that data privacy is guaranteed.
The TDP also pushed for mandatory inclusion of booth-level agents from all recognized political parties during the roll revision process. It asked that draft rolls be shared with these agents in advance to enable real-time verification.
To safeguard inclusion of vulnerable groups, the party recommended targeted enrollment drives for migrant laborers, tribal communities, the elderly, and homeless citizens.
With Bihar already in the midst of a politically sensitive roll revision ahead of polls, the TDP’s sharp intervention — though rooted in Andhra Pradesh — adds weight to growing calls for transparency and fairness in how voter databases are updated nationwide.
