Congress Demands Extension of Electoral Roll Revision Drive in Telangana

A Congress delegation led by Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar met with Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharsan Reddy in Hyderabad on Tuesday to submit a memorandum requesting an extension of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral roll drive.

The delegation urged the Election Commission (EC) to extend the deadline for the drive to ensure that no eligible voter is left out of the electoral roll.

The representation in Telangana coincided with the Election Commission's decision on Tuesday to extend the SIR of the electoral roll enumeration in neighboring Andhra Pradesh by 10 days. The extension in Andhra Pradesh was granted following a request from its Chief Electoral Officer, Vivek Yadav.

In Andhra Pradesh, the EC has extended the house-to-house visits conducted by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) until July 24, 2024. The enumeration exercise originally commenced on June 15 and was scheduled to conclude on July 14 under the original timeline.

In a letter addressed to Chief Electoral Officer Yadav, the poll body confirmed the revision of the schedule. Under the newly revised timeline, the rationalisation and rearrangement of polling stations in Andhra Pradesh will be completed by July 24, and the draft electoral roll is set to be published on July 31.

Furthermore, the Election Commission stated that citizens can file claims and objections for a month-long period spanning from July 31 to August 30. This will be followed by the notice phase and the disposal of claims and objections, which is scheduled to run from July 31 to September 28.