Telangana Voter Rights Forum Demands Three Month Extension for SIR 2026
On Saturday, the Telangana Voter Rights Forum (TVRF) held a public consultation in Hyderabad to review the implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026 process, calling for urgent measures to prevent the exclusion of eligible voters.
During the consultation, retired Supreme Court judge Justice Sudershan Reddy alleged that the SIR of the electoral roll in its current form was taking the country back into the colonial era, where the Empire decided who could vote. He noted that the voter ID personifies the right to equality described in the Constitution.
Speaking at the event, MLC Prof. M. Kodandram said that SIR was not voter registration but citizenship registration form. Telangana Education Commission chairman Akunuri Murali pointed out that of the 11 prescribed documents, only the permanent residence certificate (PRC) was accessible to the poor, marginalised, and women. He stated that the TVRF had requested the state government to explore ways of issuing the PRC to voters who have no other documentation.
Representatives of several civil society organisations, grassroots volunteers, and community leaders shared field-level experiences and highlighted practical difficulties faced by electors. They noted that inadequate public awareness, procedural complexity in procuring supporting documentation, inconsistent implementation across polling areas, and the limited availability of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were creating barriers to registration.
Participants expressed concern that economically weaker households, migrant workers, elderly persons, women, and people employed in the unorganised sector may face difficulties in producing the prescribed documents, increasing the risk of exclusion from the electoral rolls.
In its representation to the Chief Electoral Officer, the forum demanded an intensive multilingual public awareness campaign, strengthening the role of BLOs by publicising their contact details and timings, and organising periodic Booth Sabhas to facilitate community verification.
The forum also sought dedicated voter helplines operating from 9 am to 9 pm, local voter help desks through local civic bodies, and a postponement of the SIR deadline by three months.
